The Quiet Insanity
by SneakySally
Summary: Its 17 years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Draco finds himself thrown into a cell. He doesn't know why he is there when Hermione is thrown into the cell with him. Now Draco and Hermione must find a way to escape an inescapable cell. Will Draco accept the deal with his captors? Will Hermione give their captors the info they want? What will happen to their kids if they fail?
1. Chapter 1

There was a commotion outside that finally woke me from my slumber. I rubbed at my eyes as I sat up in the grungy cell. I was kidnapped three days ago. No, my son and I were kidnapped three days ago. My son. My boy. I could only hope that he was okay. He was a strong kid but nobody stood a chance against the killing curse.

No, that's not going to happen. I tried not to think of that. If I thought about it I would drive myself crazy. I couldn't afford to go insane when I needed to figure out how to get us out of here.

The cell that they were keeping me in had three concrete walls with bars being the door. Bars that could only be opened my magic. I did not know why I was being held against my will. Nobody has been down here since they placed me here, except to give me a water bottle and two pieces of bread once a day. The cell was smaller than my bathroom back home but big enough that a couple of bodies would be able to lie on the ground without hitting the wall. There was no bed, no pillow and blanket, no toilet. There was a bucket in the corner of the room for me to relieve myself but that was it. Nothing in here but the clothes on my back.

I stood up quickly when the steel door that led to the hallway wrenched open. Two men entered carrying a body between them. My heart clenched and my whole body stiffened. No, it can't be. I strained my neck trying to glimpse at the face of the person they were carrying. I saw a sandy curl fall onto the man's arm before I let myself breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't my son. But then who was it?

"Get back," one of the men growled at me.

I stared back at him defiantly. Now was my chance. They were distracted with the person between them and I could escape. But that plan was quickly foiled when the man closest to me dropped the half of the body he was carrying and pulled out his wand. He muttered a spell and I immediately felt my body shoot back against the wall being held there by an invisible source. I grunted when my head slapped against the concrete and the man smiled. I scowled at him and attempted to move. No go. The spell was too strong.

As I struggled to move they had the chance to open the door and dump the person inside with me. They didn't even seem to care if they hurt the person as they rolled the body roughly away from the door and slamming the door behind them.

As they left, I heard one of them say, "Stupid mudblood."

When the steel door to the hallway shut the spell lifted and I stumbled, not expecting it. I caught myself though and made my way over to the woman (I could see she was a woman now) and knelt down beside her. There were sandy curls surrounding her face and that alone should have been a huge giveaway but I didn't realize who it was until I moved her hair away from her face. My eyes widened and I moved my hand away like it burned. It was Hermione Granger.

But it couldn't be. She would never let herself be captured. It had to be someone else. But the more I looked at her the more I knew this was not anyone else.

She had really grown into her body since I last saw her. She looked less like the awkward teenager that I remember and now had the curves of a woman. Her hair was tamer and less bushy. When I looked at her face I noticed a huge welt on her cheek and wondered if she had put up a struggle. What was I thinking? Of course she put up a struggle. This was Hermione Granger. I wondered what they did to her when her arm twitched. She was beginning to wake.

I took a step back as she slowly came to. We haven't spoken since the Battle of Hogwarts which was seventeen years ago. Even though her and her trusty sidekicks had the charges against me and my parents dropped we were not friends. I hated that I owed her anything and she probably still hated me for torturing her while we were at school.

She let out a small groan before sitting up suddenly. "No. No!" She jumped to her feet and ran to the bars. "Let me out of here! Let me go!"

"Yeah, because yelling at them will get you what you want," I rolled my eyes at her. Did she really think they were going to come back and be like, "Oh, you want to leave? Well let me just get the door for you."

She jumped at the sound of my voice and turned to look at me. "Malfoy?"

"Who else?" I replied leaning against the wall.

"No. This can't be happening," was her response.

"I'm excited to see you too, Granger," I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"It's not Granger anymore. I'm married to Ron," she corrected me automatically.

"I don't care who you are married to. You will always be Granger to me."

She scowled at me before turning back around running her hands all over the bars. I could almost hear her brain working from where I stood. She tried in vain to get the doors to open but there was no give. I let my legs slide down until I was sitting on the ground again watching as she began pacing back and forward.

After fifteen minutes of her walking back and forward my patience finally snapped. "Can you stop doing that? You are making me restless."

She jumped at the sound of my voice for the second time and stopped in her tracks to look at me.

"Why are we here?" She asked.

"Hell if I know."

"Who is keeping us here?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?"

"Granger, I don't know." I was getting frustrated with her questions. I almost missed being in the quiet. Almost.

"If we have any chances of escaping I need to know everything you know."

"I know as much as you. I'm stuck in a cell, God knows where, and I don't know what they want or when they are going to realize that I am not going to help them with whatever plan they have and just kill me."

She flinched at my words and was quiet for a minute. I thought maybe she was done with her questions but I was wrong.

"Is it just you or did they take your wife and son?"

This time I flinched. I didn't even know she knew about them. "They have my son." I looked away from her then not wanting to look her in the eye suddenly. "I don't know about my wife."

"They have my kids too," she said shakily.

I looked up at her and saw the frantic look of a mother separated from her kids. I'm sure I had a similar look when I first got here.

We were silent for a moment before she began walking around our cell again. I saw her eyes glance up at the miniature window above my head. I also saw the exact moment she realized there was no possible way a person could fit through it. I could probably barely fit my head through it. I saw her run her hands across the wall. I don't know what she was looking for but I know she wouldn't find it whatever it was. When she got back to the bars she all but lost it. She began yanking at them as if she was going to rip them off herself. She was letting out little cries of frustration and I let her do it without saying anything. I had done the same thing three days ago. I know what she was feeling and the only way to let it out and the insanity at bay was to let the little small piece of hope let you believe if you yank hard enough the bars will come loose and you would be able to escape. I lost the piece of hope sixteen hours in.

* * *

She finally gave up after an hour and sank down to the floor by the other wall. She wrapped her arms around her knees and laid her head across them. I looked over at her and she looked like she was barely holding it together. I didn't know what to say to her. But then why should I be the one to comfort her? I was in the same situation as her. Nobody was comforting me.

The silence in the room was ringing in my ears. I could still hear the bars rattling long after she had stopped. I was okay in the quiet though. Not many people would be able to say the same but I grew up in the quiet. Being an only child and absent parents I was more times than not, alone. There were house elves but at the time I didn't consider them anything but scum underneath my shoe. I'm different now. I used to spend a lot of my time in my room reading, not affected by the quiet. At Hogwarts the only time I was truly happy was when I was flying. Not during quidditch but by myself. The only thing I could hear was the sound of the wind and my thoughts.

Two hours passed before Hermione broke the silence. She lifted her head and asked, "Can...can we maybe...I mean we don't have to but—"

"Spit it out, Granger."

"Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"Anything. You can call me names for all I care. I just...I can't...I don't like the quiet." She looked so small when she said this.

She must be desperate if she would rather talk to me than sit in the quiet. So I indulged her. "Why don't you like the quiet?"

"Because my house is never quiet. There are always kids running around and family over. I have never had complete silence in my life ever."

"Not even when you were young?"

"Well it was not as loud as my life is now but there was always my mum and my dad around to talk to."

"So you are afraid of the quiet?" I smirked.

"I am not afraid of the quiet," she glowered at me.

"I didn't know the famous Hermione Granger had a flaw."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"I thought you wanted to talk."

"I forgot how much of an insufferable git you were."

This time I scowled and didn't say anything. If she wanted me to be an insufferable git she made the mistake of letting me know her weakness. She didn't like quiet? Well she was going to get it now.

"What, no witty remark about how big my hair is? Or no know-it-all insults?" she said. I gave her a bored look and didn't respond.

"Can't think of anything to say? That's a first. Couldn't get you to shut up when we were in school." She was staring into my eyes, challenging me but I didn't take the bait.

"If only the guys could see you now. They will never believe I made Draco Malfoy speechless," she continued trying to get me to talk but I had a lot more restraint now than I did in school. Hell, even I knew I was an annoying little shit in school. But I was different now.

"I know what you are doing," she finally said and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you really giving me the silent treatment?" I gave her a cheeky smile in response.

"You are a child. I regret ever trying to talk to you."

I had many replies to that but I held my tongue, knowing that I was getting to her. She went quiet after that. I leaned my head back against the wall and let me eye close. I began reciting constellations in my head to keep myself busy. Can't let my mind wander. Can't let the fear seep in. Can't let the insanity come.

After ten minutes Hermione finally broke and said, "Okay, I am sorry I called you an insufferable git. Can you please say something?"

I reopened my eyes and looked over at her. Her hands were folded in her lap but I could tell she was trying to stop them from shaking. "What do you want me to say?"

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Three days. This day being the fourth."

"Have they talked to you at all?"

"Not a word. They throw me a water bottle and two pieces of bread once a day and that's it."

She went quiet at that and looked down at her hands. I watched as she rubbed her hands down her leg before looking back at me. "Have they let you see your son?"

"No," my face hardened and I took a slow breath. He is fine. They won't touch him. He is only a boy. They _won't _touch him.

Hermione began rocking back and forward and I knew I needed to say something. Something less worrisome. She was letting the insanity creep up on her.

"What are your kids' names?"

"Rose and Hugo."

"How old are they?"

"Rose is thirteen and Hugo is seven. He is only seven. He must be so scared." She began shaking even harder and I knew the insanity wasn't creeping up on her. It was settling in.

"Granger. Granger! What is another way to say aconite?"

She looked at me with a confused look before saying, "Monkshood."

"What else?"

"Wolfsbane."

"And?"

"I've heard some people call it Women's bane. Which makes no sense."

"Anything else?" I could see her slowly beginning to relax as she thought of other names.

"Blue rocket. In reference to the color of its petals." She took a deep breath before saying another. "Leopard's bane."

"What is known for?"

"It's known as the queen of poisons. Used to kill werewolves. In Greek the name means _without struggle_."

"You speak Greek?" I asked, trying to not look too surprised.

"Mostly Latin, but I know a little Greek."

The woman really was the brightest girl of her age, but I would never admit that to her out loud. "What other languages do you know?"

"I can read Runes, and speak French, Portuguese, German, and Southern United States."

"Southern United States? Don't they speak English?"

"Not in the same way we do," she smiled knowingly.

She went quiet for a moment before saying, "Thank you, Malfoy."

"For what?"

"For not being an insufferable git."


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was starting to go down when the steel door reopened. We both shot to our feet and I didn't fail to notice how Hermione took a step back towards me. A surly man walked through the door and looked at us for a moment before throwing a water bottle through the bars and two pieces of bread. I guess they weren't going to give us more now that there were two of us. I watched him silently but as he turned to leave Hermione shot forward. At first I thought she was going to grab the water bottle and bread but she stepped over them and grabbed at the bars.

"Let me out of here! Why are we here? Where are my kids?" she yelled after him. But the man ignored her and shut the steel door behind him.

She sank down to her feet and her head fell against the bars. I walked toward her and picked up the water bottle and bread. I offered her the water bottle but she shook her head.

"You need to keep your strength up," I said, not moving the water bottle away from her.

"Yes, because water and bread are going to give me the substances that my body needs to keep me from malnourishment," she replied drily but took the water from me.

She took a small gulp of water before handing it back to me. I had finished my last water bottle the night before so I was exceedingly thirsty. I took a larger drink than she did and let it wash away the cotton mouth I had. I made to hand her the bread also but she waved her hand at me.

"I don't want it. You have it."

"You need to eat, Granger."

"I am not hungry," she replied stubbornly.

I rolled my eyes at her before putting my hand down. I couldn't force her to eat. She went back to her wall and sat down so I sat down back in the same spot I've been sitting in for three days eating my bread.

"How old is Scorpius now?" The question took me by surprise and I nearly choked on my bread.

"How do you know my son's name?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Rose has spoken about him a couple of times and Professor Longbottom speaks highly of him. Scorpius appears to be exceptional in Herbology," she said this as if it was nothing but I was flabbergasted. I did not even know she had any kids and she knew Scorpius was great in Herbology. Was I missing something? Should I have known that Scorpius knew Hermione's daughter?

"You seem surprised," she chuckled half-heartedly.

"I didn't know you knew my son," was all I said.

"I have never met him personally but I know he is a good kid. Ron doesn't much care for when Rose mentions him but then again I don't think he has ever forgiven you for calling me a mudblood in our second year."

I looked away from her, not having the courage to look her in the eye. "I was a prat in our second year."

"You were a part every year we were at Hogwarts," she laughed, but there was no malice behind it.

"I guess I was," I replied.

I felt like apologizing but before I could, I felt myself grow angry. Just another thing I owed her. Not only has she kept me out of prison but now I owed her an apology for being such a fiend while at Hogwarts. I hated owing anyone anything. I always repaid my debts but it was different with Hermione. I grew up being taught to hate her but I don't think I ever had it in me to hate her. No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise. I hated that I didn't hate her. There was just something about Hermione that got underneath my skin. I may or may not have had a crush on her in our third year but that was only because she was the first person to stand up to me and make me realize what an arrogant ass I was being. I still tormented her and her friends after that but it was only because I wanted her to stand up to me again. I could feel the back of my neck beginning to burn and I clenched and unclenched my hands. I was more angry with myself than her at this point. If I couldn't even apologize to her now I am no different than I was in school.

She mistook the angry look on my face and said, "I didn't mean to insult you. It was a lame joke."

"It's not a joke if it is true," I responded.

"Malfoy, I am sor—"

"No it's okay. I am not mad at you," I interrupted her. She had no reason to apologize to me.

We were quiet again when I saw her eyes dart to the window. She looked pained when she looked away and I looked up. I was directly underneath the window so I couldn't see what she from where I was sitting.

So I asked her, "What's wrong?"

"It's getting dark," she stated.

"Yeah, so?"

"Hugo is terrified of the dark," she murmured.

"I am sure he will be okay," I said, trying to reassure her.

"I hope so," she pulled her legs to her chest again and exhaled waveringly.

We began to talk about nothing in general. I was really just trying to keep her mind off her kids because that seems to be her trigger point into insanity. I asked her general questions about her life and she answered them like I was not her worst enemy. She told me how she still had the cat she had when we were back at school. She told me how she had gone back to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year. When I asked her why she said, "Because it was something I needed to do." She told me about her job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and how she knew that I worked at the ministry but did not what I did. I have never seen her at the ministry before and it surprised me that she knew that I also worked there.

"You've seen me at the Ministry before?" I asked her.

"Once or twice," she replied.

"I don't necessarily work for the ministry but they have given me a grant to work on my research and I have to go in from time to time to present my findings to them."

"What are you researching?"

"A lot of my work has to do with creating new potions or improving on old ones. Right now I am trying to find a way to enhance the effects of the Invigoration Draught."

"Invigoration Draught. That sounds so familiar."

"It's a potion to boost energy. But the effects only last for about an hour tops. I am trying to find a way to make it last longer."

"Have you tried adding honeywater?'

"Yeah but it cancels out the boom berry which is one of the important ingredients to the potion." I couldn't help but smile as we discussed potions. Not many people in my life were interested in my work and rarely anyone who understood what I was talking about when they were interested. It was nice being able to talk to someone who not only understood the properties of potion but could actually give me suggestions on what I was working on.

"Boom berry. Right. How could I forget?" she slapped her hand to her head.

"Yeah, see my problem?" I chuckled.

"Boom berry is so hard to work with. This is going to be a tough project for you," she shook her head at me good naturedly at me. That was when the screaming started.

**Author's Note**: For the most part this fanfic will be canon except for the timeline of when the second generation were born. In this story I altered the ages of all the kids. They are as of following:

Teddy-18

James- 16

Scorpius-14

Rose/Albus-13 ½

Lily-9

Hugo-7

There will also be a lot of talk about potions and ingredients that I am trying to keep as cannon as possible, but some recipes are not online so I am making them from scratch. I hope you are all enjoying my story so far. Let me know what you think of it!


	3. Chapter 3

A chill went down my back as I watched her eyes widened. The screaming was coming from a child. Hermione shot up and ran to the bars. Once again she began to shake them trying to will the bars to break.

"Hugo!" she shouted.

The screaming didn't sound like he was in pain. They sounded like he was terrified. But he wasn't in pain. That should be enough to calm Hermione down. Hopefully.

"Granger," I stepped toward her cautiously. She was still struggling to open the bars and I could see her whole body trembling.

She either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me. "Hugo! HUGO!"

The little boy could still be heard screaming and crying and I remembered that Hermione had said that he was frightened of the dark. "Granger, I think he is just scared of the dark. They aren't doing anything to him."

"Let me out! HUGO!" she yelled.

"Granger," I pulled her away from the bars and attempted to get her to look at me but she pushed me away and grabbed for the bars again. She began screaming for her son and I knew she was just about to lose it. Forcefully, I took hold of her hands and made her look at me. The look in her eyes was crazed and I could see the insanity lining her irises. "Nothing is going to happen to your son. I promise."

Her breathing was uneven and her knees were shaking so badly she looked like she was going to collapse any second. So I led her back to the wall she was sitting at and sat her down. Reluctantly, she came with me and let me sit down next to her. "Your son is fine. It's just the darkness that scares him." I could hear her crying beside me but I knew she was listening. "Hugo is okay. He is alright."

Hermione was finally beginning to breathe normally when the screaming stopped abruptly. This just made Hermione start to panic all over again. "NO! What did they do to him? HUGO!"

"Granger," I gripped my arms around her tightly as she made to get up. Shaking the bars is not going to help at this point. If the men didn't like Hugo screaming, they would surely not appreciate Hermione screaming. I needed to quiet her before they came and did whatever they did to Hugo to her. "Shh, Granger. He is okay."

"No he's not. They killed him! They killed my baby boy," she cried and I pulled her face into my chest trying to muffle her screams. She clenched my shirt harshly and I could feel her fingernails digging painfully into the skin near my upper ribs but I didn't dare move her. I listened to what was going on outside but I couldn't hear anything. Not even the sound of a door closing. I hoped for the sake of Hermione's well being that Hugo was okay and my words were not just words.

I let Hermione cry herself to sleep before laying her down carefully on the cold floor. I wished I had a blanket to cover her up but there was nothing I could do. So instead I crawled to my wall side and tried to will myself to go to sleep. But it was hard when I could still hear the echoes of the screaming little boy.

* * *

The next morning when I woke Hermione was already awake. She was curled into a ball facing the wall. All I could see was her back but I could still see her trembling. Needed to get her mind off the death of her son. Needed to keep the insanity at bay. But what can I do? What could I sat to get her mind off her son? It came to me suddenly and I pushed myself up from off the ground. _I hope this works._

"Granger," I said cautiously, not wanting to frighten her. She didn't say anything but she rolled away from the wall to face me. Her face was pale and her eyes were red like she woke up still crying. Needed to distract her. "What are the ingredients to a Calming Draught?"

She looked at me like she hadn't heard a word I said or didn't want to. But I was patient. Something that took me many years to learn. When she blinked at me, I knew she was slowly coming back to me. "Belladonna," she said so quietly I barely caught it.

"Good. What else?" I asked.

Another moment of silence before she said, "Powdered moonstone."

I nodded my head encouragingly and waited for her to continue.

"Ginger root," she ran her hand over her face and sat up. "Scurvy grass."

"One more," I watched as she took a steady breath and she looked significantly calmer.

"Sprig of peppermint."

And just like that she was okay. Well as okay as she will ever be. She began asking me questions about my life and I answered her as she did for me the day before. She asked me how I got into researching potions and I told her how Potions was my favorite class at Hogwarts. She asked me questions about Scorpius and I answered her. I had shoved the mind gripping fear for his safety to the back of my head and let the rest of my body grow numb. If I let myself think about him too much I could feel my sanity begin to slip. So I remained numb when thinking about him but let the overwhelming love I have for him take over. He kept me rooted to the ground while everything else was in chaos. She was curious to find out that Scorpius was not into quidditch.

"After watching you and Harry all those years on the field I would have thought Scorpius would follow in your footsteps," Hermione chuckled lightly.

"Do any of Potter's kids play?" I asked. Everyone knew that Potter and his wife produced three healthy babies. It was all I heard at work when the first one was born. People treated it as if the Queen of England just gave birth.

"James does. And I can see Lily trying out when she is old enough to go to Hogwarts. She reminds me so much of her mother. James is a complete goofball on a broom but Lily is entirely focused when she is flying," she replied.

"What year is James in?"

"He will be going into his sixth year come September. Albus will be a fourth year with my Rosie," She looked down at her hands at the mention of her daughter. Don't let the insanity settle. Need a distraction.

"Potter named his kid after Dumbledore?"

"And Snape. His full name is Albus Severus Potter. Harry always tells him that he was named after two headmasters and two of the bravest men he ever knew."

"I thought Potter hated Snape."

"It's a long story. But after he knew Snape was always on our side he forgave him and made sure everyone else knew what he did for the Order of the Phoenix."

"I never knew that," I replied.

I really knew nothing about Potter. In my head I always reasoned that he really was the attention seeking, pompous ass as I thought him to be and he deserved to be knocked down a peg. It wasn't because I was a selfish prat and it was not because he rejected my hand in friendship. It was him that was the ass, not me. But he wasn't one to hold a grudge against someone. He forgave Snape. He forgave my parents. He forgave me. Maybe I was the pompous ass.

"Malfoy?" I looked up at her and saw that was watching me closely. "You have been quiet for awhile."

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

Hermione bit her lip and I wondered what I did or what I said to put that look on her face. But before I could ask her what was wrong she shook her head and gave me a faint smile. "What does Scorpius like to do then if he doesn't play quidditch?"

"He loves to read. I can't even walk in his room because he has books all over his floor," I saw her eyes light up at that and it threw me for a second before I realized she was a complete bookworm too.

"What does he like to read?" she asked.

"Mostly fiction. I think he is reading _The Dudgeon's Dragon_ at the moment."

"I've heard of that book. I think I saw it on Albus' desk the other day. Robert Burns is an amazing author."

"I've never read any of his work but Scorpius is always telling me how he wants to be just like him when he grows up."

Hermione chuckled at that and I let a smile slip onto my face. I loved talking about Scorpius. He was the best thing to ever happen to me and I would not be the man I was today if it were not for him. Talking about him always brought a warm feeling to my chest and without a doubt bring a smile to my face. I loved him more than I loved myself. I wasn't much to love but Scorpius deserved all the love he could get. He is nothing like me even if he looks exactly as I did at fourteen. He is not a jealous person and more reserved. I was reckless as a teen mixing with the dark arts at a young age, but Scorpius didn't have a dark bone in his body. He was breaking the vicious cycle of evil by being placed in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin. My father was none too pleased to hear about this but I was elated. All I could think was that Scorpions was going to be given the opportunity to start Hogwarts fresh and without prejudice. He is not going to be like the rest of my family. He has a good heart and he will be able to live his life the way he wants to.

We spoke about Scorpius for most of the day. Hermione asked about Astoria once or twice but each time I replied with short, curt answers. I couldn't talk about her yet. Not yet.

She was just asking me how I came up with Scorpius for his name when the steel door opened once again. We both shot up and watched as the surly man walked in. It was like a switch went off in her head and Hermione immediately shot at the bars.

"What did you do to my son?" She asked in a cold tone.

"Back away from the door."

"Tell me what you did!"

"Move!" He bellowed.

"Let us out of here!"

The man growled at her before pulling out his wand. He flicked his wand and I watched as her body was thrown against the wall much in the same way mine was when Hermione first arrived. She let out a gasp before she began struggling against her magical restraint. The man turned his gaze onto me and I took the hint, stepping back toward the wall. Realizing I wasn't a threat the man put his wand away. I turned my head to look at Hermione but she was still being held against her will. I looked back and watched as he threw another water bottle and two pieces of bread. He then walked back out the steel door slamming it behind him.

Hermione fell to the floor at the same time and I knelt down next to her. She was on her hands and her knees with her head bowed down. I placed my hand on her shoulder and could feel how tightly wound up she was before she shrugged my hand off. I waited for her to gain control before saying, "I named him after my favorite constellation."

**Author's Note: **Hope you guys liked it so far. Let me know by reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

On Hermione's third day and my sixth everything changed. It was mid-morning when the steel door opened. Something wasn't right. They never gave us food until evening. We both got to our feet and watched as two men entered. They gave us a warning look to back away from the door and took out their wands. I grabbed the sleeve of Hermione's shirt and stepped back towards the wall. Hermione let me drag her back and I thanked everything that she was not putting up a fight like she did yesterday. One of the men unlocked the bars door and they entered pointing their wands at us.

"You," they were looking at me. Oh God. What did they want with me? "Come with us."

Hermione immediately stepped closer to me and I tracked the movement. It gave me the courage to ask, "Why?"

"Because we said so," the first man said.

"Move away for him," the second man said to Hermione.

"What are you going to do to him?" Hermione asked.

"I will not say it again. Move," the second man turned his wand on Hermione and I felt her arm brush up against mine.

The first man reached over and grabbed me by the other arm and Hermione went ballistic. "Let him go! What do you want? Stop!"

The last thing I remember before going under was the second man striking Hermione across her face.

* * *

When I came to I was in another room sitting in a comfy armchair. My head was throbbing as I looked around the room. It looked like I was in a nice dining room. The room was painted a forest green and gave it an older feel. The floor I could see was a beautiful cherry wood and there was a huge, old rug near the grand fire place. Various of painting were hung around the room but no people resided them, which was odd. A dining table was sitting in the middle of the room with a potion set on top. It didn't look like anyone was in the room until someone spoke to my left, making me jump.

"Hello, Draco. I don't believe we have been formally introduced. My name is Duncan." A middle-aged man with raven black hair reached out a hand to shake mine but I made no move to shake it back. "It's rude to not shake someone's hand when offered but I will make an exception this time. I mean I did lock you up for six days." He chuckled like he just said a witty joke.

"Why am I here?" I watched as he clasped his hands together and gave me a dazzling smile. He must have been good looking at one point in his life, but I could tell something had happened to him that took years away from his life. Probably Azkaban.

"Ah, straight to the point kind of guy. My niece told me you were never one for small talk," I narrowed my eyes at him but he waved me off like a dog. "Now don't be upset with my niece. You know, she said it wasn't necessary to lock you up but I have always been into taking precautionary measures."

"Why am I here?" I repeated.

Duncan let out a rambunctious laugh before continuing. "Yes, straight to the point. I need for you to make me your deadliest poison. I want a poison so strong it kills the person instantly without an antidote."

"Why? Who are you trying to kill?" I asked.

"Well that really is none of your concern, Draco. I want you to start the potion now. You will have the rest of the day to work and when you are finished you and your son are free to go." Duncan stood from his chair and made to leave but he stopped dead in his tracks at my next words.

"I won't do it."

Duncan turned to face me as he asked, "Excuse me?"

"I won't do it. And you can tell your niece that she is a heartless wench," I said this with a lot more confidence than I knew I had and waited for the inevitable.

"Well that does put a damper in things. Maybe Roy and Cliff can convince you otherwise," Duncan said before walking out the room.

It was only then that I noticed the other two men standing in the room. They descended on me like a pack of vultures. I was thrown onto the floor and kicked roughly in the stomach. I curled into a ball clenching my stomach and tried to deflect the other blows they were making towards my body. I felt a kick to my spine and another to my hip. The pain that was shooting through me was enough for me to cry out in agony but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"Who do you think you are to refuse Master Duncan," Roy growled. He kicked me in the nose and I fought off the reflex to tear up. I felt something drip down my nose and could only hope it was snot and not blood.

"You will do as Master Duncan says. Everyone always does," Cliff said menacingly.

I let out a groan when one of them was able to kick me in the stomach again. This went on for a long time. I don't know how long it took for me to pass out but I eventually did.

When I came to I was lying face down on what looked to be the expensive rug I saw from before. My entire body was screaming and aching as I pushed myself off the floor. The pain in my ribs was most prominent and I wrapped my arm around it trying to will the pain to go away.

"Now, Draco. I will not have you dozing on the job. But I will let it slide this time because I am a kind man."

I wanted to curl back into a ball at the sound of Duncan's voice. He was watching me with look of amusement.

"Now I am going to ask you once again to make that potion for me," he said.

"No," I ground out. "I won't make you your poison."

The smile left his face and he narrowed his eyes at me. "Very well. I guess we will have to try again tomorrow. Take him back to his cell."

Roy and Cliff each grabbed me by an arm and roughly took me out of the room. They led me down a hallway and through a door that led us downstairs. When we got to the bottom there was another door and behind that door was another hallway that led to more closed doors. Roy and Cliff led me to the left and we walked to the very last door on the end. Roy opened it and we walked inside. It was the room that held my cell. That held mine and Hermione's cell. The cell was darker than I remembered. My eyes weren't fully adjusted to the dark before they threw me carelessly back inside the cell. I fell right on my hip and let out a groan as they shut the bars behind me.

"Malfoy!" Hermione quickly knelt down next to me and set her hands on my shoulder. I grimaced as new sets of pain wrecked through my body. "What can I do?"

"Is there any water left?" I asked weakly.

I looked up at her just in time to see her bite her lip. "I'm sorry. I drank the tiny bit that was left."

It was then that I noticed the purple bruise forming underneath her left eye. I reached up to touch it and she flinched when my fingers made contact with it. "You shouldn't have fought with them."

"I didn't know what they were going to do with you. I couldn't let them hurt you," she frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because you are not the bad guy, Malfoy. You don't deserve to be here."

I swallowed hard and attempted to crawl away from her. She was wrong. I do deserve to be here. I made it a few inches before I had to grab for my ribs. The sound that came out of my mouth made Hermione move closer to me, which made my attempt to crawl away from her for nothing. She sat down against the closest wall and pulled my head into her lap. I didn't resist because I didn't have the strength to. I wish I did though when she began tentatively running her fingers through my hair. My traitorous body began to relax against her and my arm came up to wrap lightly around her leg.

She began talking then about nothing in general. She talked about her trip to France and how there was this little tea shop that she loves to go to every time she went. They had these small croissants that were the best she ever had. She also loved this antique bookstore that was there and mentioned that Scorpius might like it. At the sound of my son's name I felt infinitely better even if it was only mentally. She continued to run her fingers through my hair and talk until the sun had set.

When the steel doors opened for the second time that day I felt Hermione's arms tighten around me. She pulled me closer to her body and I let her, shutting my eyes dreadfully. I heard a soft '_thunk_' before whoever came left back through the steel door.

I reopened my eyes as Hermione carefully moved out from underneath me. She set my head down more gently than I deserved and walked over to the bars. She bent down and picked something up from off the ground before walking back toward me. I saw she was holding a water bottle and the two pieces of bread. With great difficulty, I sat up as she unscrewed the lid to the water and handed it to me. I took a huge gulp and relished in the way it went down my throat. I would have chugged the entire bottle if I didn't see Hermione move in the corner of my eye. Regretfully, I brought the water down and handed it back to her. She took it from me and handed me one of the breads. I took a bite of it before noticing that she wasn't eating hers.

"The bread is not so bad," I said nodding toward the bread in her hand.

She gave me a soft smile before making to hand me her bread. "You should eat it. I am not hungry."

I gave her a look as if to say, "Oh really?" and she shrugged her shoulders. "You had a bad day. You should eat it."

"I'm not going to eat your bread just because I was beaten up." I probably deserved it all anyways. It was like the universe was finally getting back at me for all the wrong I have done in the world. Every kick and every punch was just karma paying a visit.

"You need it more than I do," was her weak argument.

"Eat," I said stuffing the last bite of bread in my mouth.

She gave me one last look before greedily eating her slice of bread. We sat in silence for awhile. I rested my head against the cool concrete and it seemed to help with the dull ache in my head. I was just dozing off when Hermione spoke.

"Do you know what they want?" she whispered.

I opened my eyes and she was sitting close to me, her head almost resting on my shoulder. "They want me to make them a poison."

"Who are they trying to kill?"

"Wouldn't tell me."

"Are you going to do it?"

"No."

She looked at me for a moment before leaning away. She opened her mouth as if to say something but then she shut it quickly and looked away.

"What? Just say it," I said grouchily.

"How did it happen?"

"What happen?" I asked confusedly.

"When they took you and Scorpius?"

I looked away from her not wanting to answer her question. If I told her everything then she would know who took her and I don't think I could deal with the look in her eye when she found out the truth. So instead I lied down on the concrete and shut my eyes. "I'm not ready to tell that story."

* * *

I woke with a jolt in the middle of the night, my heart thumping crazily in my chest. I didn't know where I was and I began to panic. A pain shot through my hip then another shot from my stomach up to my chest. I couldn't breathe. What was wrong with me? _Stop freaking out. Stop. Stop!_ I couldn't breathe. It was too dark where ever I was. I was going to die in here. My lungs weren't working right. I felt my whole body shaking but I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried. A strangled sound came from me and made me begin to panic further.

Something moved to my right and I let out a frightened yell. I was going to die here. I deserved to die. I deserved whatever death the universe provided for me. My breathing grew more labored and I felt my chest constrict painfully. Everything hurt. I just wanted it to end already. Just let me die.

"Malfoy? Malfoy!" I brought my legs up swiftly to my chest and began rocking back and forward. Death was calling my name already.

A cold hand touched my face and I flinched. "Malfoy, it's okay. You are okay." The voice was gentle and I looked around to see who said it. My eyes slowly adjusted to a face of an angel. I was dying. But why would an angel be with me? I didn't deserve to be going anywhere good. I didn't deserve to be graced with an angel watching over me as I died.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I cried to the angel.

"Shh, Malfoy. It's okay," the angel said pulling me into her embrace. She stroked the side of my face as she continued to mutter comforting words.

I slowly began to relax and I was able to take in a lungful of air. My body had stopped shaking and was lying heavily against the angel. But it wasn't an angel that was holding me.

"Her..Hermione?" I said hesitantly.

She gave me a reassuring smile and nodded her head at me. "I'm here."

"What? I don't know what happened," I said, pulling away from her arms.

She pulled me back, however, and lightly began stroking my arm. "I think you were having a panic attack."

I rested my head against her chest suddenly exhausted. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it. Let's try to get some sleep."

She carefully lowered us back on the cement. I should probably get off her now that I was okay but again when I made to roll away from her she pulled me back into her arms. So I laid my head back on her chest and fell asleep.

**Author's Note:** Here is another chapter for you guys. Like any other writer I strive on reviews! Please let me know what you guys think! I am unsure if it is worth continuing if no one reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up before Hermione the next morning with my head still on her chest. She was curled up underneath me, her hand grazing my arm. Her neck was elongated towards my face with her head rolled onto her shoulder. It didn't look comfortable at all but she had a peaceful look on her face. A part of me craved to bury my face into her neck but I knew I had no right to. I moved away from her as carefully as I could to not wake her but it was useless. As soon as I lifted my head off her chest she fidgeted. She opened her eyes sleepily and looked around with a look of confusion on her face.

"Sorry I woke you," I said, sitting up fully now.

"No, its fine," she replied, sitting up as well.

She reached around on the ground with her hand and I watched as she grabbed the water bottle. I continued watching her as she pulled her sleeve down over her hand and poured a tiny bit onto the tip. I was thoroughly confused about her bizarre behavior when she suddenly was reaching towards my face with her sleeve.

"What are you doing?" I moved my head slightly away before she could touch me.

"There is dry blood on your face," she answered, touching the sleeve right underneath my nose. So I guess it wasn't snot that was dripping down my face when Roy kicked me in the face. Fantastic.

"How could you wipe my dry blood on your sleeve?" I was a little weirded out by the whole situation.

"Hu—Hugo used to get nosebleeds all the time," she stuttered.

I should say something, anything. The wound was still too fresh for her to be able to talk about Hugo. But I couldn't think of anything to say. _Come on, Draco. Say something!_

"I don't like chocolate frogs," I blurted out.

Hermione looked at me taken aback before letting out a laugh. "How can you not like chocolate frogs?"

"I don't know. I've never really had a sweet tooth," I let out a small laugh.

I winced when she began scraping along the underside of my nose. "Sorry," she was gentler as she got the remaining bits of dry blood from my nose. "I don't care much for sweets either. My parents are dentists so they never let me have sweets when I was young. I never really grew out of the habit of eating an apple instead of a piece of chocolate."

"What's a _dentists_?" I asked curiously.

"It's people who work on teeth." She laughed as I grimaced. "Muggles don't have magic for people when they have a cavity or crooked teeth. So they use drills and other tools to fix rotten teeth."

"That sounds horrible," I commented, which made her laugh again.

"It kind of is actually. They made me wear braces for a year and a half. Luckily I got them off before I ever went to Hogwarts. I would have really made a statement if I walked into the Great Hall with metal in my mouth," she chuckled. "But at least my teeth were straight, even if I did have buck-teeth until my fourth year. I guess I can thank you for fixing that problem."

I gave her a confused look. "How did I fix that problem?"

"Don't you remember when you and Harry were fighting? Someone shot a jinx that made my teeth grow enormous and I had to go to the nurse to shrink them down. I may have told Madam Pomfrey to shrink them down a little more than what they used to look like," she said mischievously.

"You broke a rule," I smirked.

"I broke many rules while I was in school but no where in the rules does it say that I couldn't get rid of my buck-teeth," I laughed with her this time and almost didn't hear the steel doors open.

Hermione and I both got to our feet and watched as Roy and Cliff stopped in front of the bars. Cliff lifted his wand and opened the bars just as Hermione stepped in front of me.

"Move away from him," Roy said in a bored tone. Hermione stood her ground.

Cliff shot at her before I had a chance to react. He pulled her by her hair to the ground and she let out a yelp of pain. I rushed towards them but Roy blocked my path. He grabbed me by my arm and began pulling me toward the door. I struggled to get back to them and hit Roy in the process.

"Let go of her!" I shouted.

"Malfoy!" Hermione looked at me with a frightened look that only made me try to break away harder.

"Shut up, mudblood!"

"ENOUGH! Cliff, let's go," Roy roared. He pulled me roughly away from the cell but not before I saw Cliff knee Hermione in the jaw.

I continued scrambling to break until Roy pointed his wand at me. "Keep struggling and I will cut your foot off. Don't need that to make a potion now do you?"

The loathing look I shot him just made him smirk. I let him drag me back to the dining room and lost my footing when he suddenly shoved me to the ground. He went to stand behind the table, making sure to keep his wand on me when Duncan entered the room. I looked behind me but Cliff still hadn't entered the room. What was he doing to her? _Please be alright, Hermione._

"Good morning, Draco. I truly hope you slept well," Duncan simpered.

I slowly pushed myself to my feet and faced him. "I still won't make your poison."

"Oh, I really wish you would think of the consequences if you don't make me my potion. I didn't much care to see that pretty face of yours all bloodied up." He made to touch my face but I leaned away. Just the thought of him touching me made my skin crawl.

"I am not going to do it," I said forcefully.

Duncan pulled his hand back and gave me a hard look. "Very well then. Roy, Cliff," I turned swiftly and saw that he was back in the room. My anxiety over what was happening to Hermione shot down tremendously. "You may be creative this time. In fact, I _encourage _it. Just no use of the Cruciatus Curse. Can't have our guest going insane on us."

Cliff and Roy both snickered at this as Duncan left the room. They circled around the dining table slowly as if I was their prey. I prepared myself this time though and when Roy lifted his wand, I didn't give him the chance to utter a spell before tackling him. He grunted when his back made contact with the table and we fell to the floor unceremoniously. I shot for the wand in his hand but he was quick to move it out of my grasp. We threw punches at one another before I felt hands ripping me away from him. Cliff was a lot bigger than me and had me in a choke hold in less than three seconds.

Roy got back to his feet and I could almost feel the heat radiating off of him. "You little toerag! How dare you fight against me. You are going to regret that." He lifted his wand and slashed at the air.

It felt like my chest was ripping in half and I let out an involuntary scream. When I looked down it did look like my chest was torn in half. Blood oozed down the gushing wound as I attempted to move out of Cliff's hold but this only resulted in him tightening his arms around my neck. Roy slashed at the air once more and it felt like someone had sliced a knife through my thigh. I held back the scream this time but I couldn't stop the loud exhale. My hands flew up to Cliff's arms trying to pry them off my neck but he wouldn't give. He was a lot stronger than me. When Roy slashed the air for the third time I gritted my teeth at the throbbing sting in my hip.

By the seventh slice I didn't know if I would be able to take the pain any longer. I was holding onto Cliff from collapsing at this point and Roy looked nowhere near stopping. He lifted his wand and I held my hand up beseechingly. "Stop, please."

Cliff let out a maniacal laugh before slicing through my abdomen. "Keep going vermin. I want to hear you _beg_ like the coward you are." A slice through my shoulder.

I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood. I couldn't give him the satisfaction. My eyes began to sting but I shut them, refusing to let them see me cry. A tormented shout left my lips before I could stop it and black spots began entering my line of vision. Let me pass out. At least then I couldn't feel the cuts all over my body.

"That should be enough, Roy." I heard Duncan's voice but my vision was cloudy. The next time he spoke it sounded as if he was directly in front of me. "Look at that, Roy was kind enough to leave that pretty face alone. Now, will you do as I ask of you?"

The dark tendrils were just pulling me into unconsciousness when Duncan slapped at my face flippantly. My eyes flashed open and I groaned as the pain racked through my body with a vengeance.

"Stay with me, Draco. What do you say to our agreement? Make me what I want and you won't have to feel this pain anymore. Plus you will remain here knowing you and your son are safe. That really is the best you can get out of this situation," Duncan said with a warm smile.

"Who do you want to poison?" I asked, my voice wavering as I struggled to remain awake.

"Now, if I were to tell you that then I would have to kill you. I am just trying to get you out of here alive. I am doing you a favor really," Duncan answered.

"You can do me a favor by letting us go," I said weakly.

I know he would never grant me that favor but I was stalling. If I told him yes I wouldn't continue being tortured and he would eventually set Scorpius and I free. But what about Hermione? I couldn't leave her alone. Plus if I did make him the poison I would be killing an innocent person. I've killed enough innocent people in my life. I couldn't do this. I won't do this.

"I like your spirit. I really hope I do not have to kill you," Duncan laughed. "Now you will begin working immediately."

"I never said I would do it. You are wasting your time," I said softly.

Duncan glowered at me before stating, "We will do this everyday until you change your mind then. And trust me, you _will_ change your mind."

The next thing I know I'm being dragged out of the room. I didn't think I could hurt anymore than I already did but I was wrong. Every movement seemed like all the knives were back on my cuts and digging them in even deeper. I was breathing heavily by the time Roy opened the steel door to my cell. After they opened the bars, Cliff finally let me go and I crumbled to the ground in my cell.

"Malfoy! Oh God, Malfoy can you hear me?" Hermione had rushed to my side and by the look on her face I must look dreadful.

My vision began to swim again but Hermione brought me back by placing her hands on the only part of my body that wasn't bleeding, my face. My eyes focused on her face and she gave me a worried look.

"I don't have anything to stop the bleeding. I don't know...I don't know what to do. You are bleeding too much. I don't have anything to stop it. I don't know…I need to…" Hermione was almost breathing as hard as I was.

"Granger," I set my hand on her leg to get her attention. She stopped talking and leaned closer so she could hear me. "Ingredients...Babbling Beverage."

I have no idea how she understood what I was asking of her but she nodded her head and said, "Porcupine quill."

I nodded slowly and let my head fall back listening to her list off the ingredients to a Babbling Beverage. Before I could fight it off, unconsciousness enveloped me into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

When I woke up next my whole body ached, but the pain was more tolerable. The sun had set already and the light of the moon was the only source of light in the cell. The room felt significantly colder and I realized I wasn't wearing my shirt anymore. I ran my hand lightly over the incision on my chest, which seemed to be the deepest, and noticed I wasn't bleeding anymore. I looked at the rest of my cuts and saw that they all looked they had been cleaned. Even the one on my leg and hip. A gust of cold air hit me and I shivered looking around for my shirt. My eyes found Hermione first, sitting against the wall with her knees to her chest and her head buried in her arms.

"Hey." My voice was raspy and my mouth was dry.

Hermione jumped at the sound of my voice and her head popped up. She crawled over to me and gave me a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," I replied truthfully.

She helped me sit up against the wall and handed me an almost empty water bottle. I drank the rest of the water in one gulp. "Sorry. I used most of the water to clean your wounds," she said sheepishly.

I shook my head at her to convey to her that it was fine. "You didn't need to do that."

"I didn't want your cuts to get infected," she replied.

"I don't think water will keep my wounds from getting an infection."

"I know. But I needed to do something. I couldn't just let you bleed to death."

The sentence hung in the air between us and I shivered for a whole new reason. She noticed and handed me back my shirt assuming I was cold. It was caked in blood but it was better than sitting in the cold. She helped me put it back on making sure to be as gentle as she could. I felt my face grow warm as her fingers brushed the top of my pants.

"How did you um, know what to do? I mean clean my wounds," I asked nervously.

"What with the kids always getting cuts and scrapes and Harry and Ron being themselves I picked up a thing or two," she replied.

"Why don't you just use magic?"

"Well there were times when using magic was risky so I had to heal without a wand," she said simply. "I mean it was a lot easier when I had Essence of Dittany with me but I always found a way."

Hermione just kept surprising me with her brilliance. She was almost unreal. How did I get so lucky to be thrown in a cell with her? No. I shouldn't say that. Hermione didn't deserve to be here and I did. I made stupid mistakes in my life, some that I am still making. Mistakes that will haunt me for the rest of my life and I deserved it. I was stupid and imprudent. But Hermione was the complete opposite. She was brilliant and smart and compassionate. She cared for people unconditionally and I still care about nobody but myself. No, that's not right. I don't care about anybody but Scorpius and myself. She didn't deserve to be here. How did she get here? Was it my fault?

"Granger, how did you let yourself get captured?" My whole body was tense in anticipation of her answer. Please, don't let it be my fault.

She looked taken aback but recovered quickly. I watched as she took a sit next to me handing me a piece of bread. At first I thought she was going to ignore the question all together when she began to speak.

"I was taking the kids out for breakfast. We always go to this muggle diner on Sundays but Ron had to go into work that morning. The kids felt like being lazy and staying home but I love their crepes and made them get ready to go. We always apparate to get there in this alleyway behind the diner. No one ever walks through there because it is a dead end but this time there were four men waiting for us. Like they knew we would be there. I told the kids to run when they attacked us but they didn't make it far. I gave them a good fight but stopped when they threatened to kill Rose." She paused for a moment, reliving that day probably by the look on her face. I could only imagine how scared she was. How scared they all were. "When two of the men disappeared with my kids I lost it. Completely lost it. I had my wand taken at some point during the fight and was just using my hands and feet to inflict as much pain unto them as I could. But one of them hit me in the back of the head and I blacked out. I woke up in here."

"How did they know where to find you?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know," she replied.

We were both got lost in our own thoughts after that. They must have been following her for awhile. It was the only explanation to as why they knew to be in that alleyway. But that doesn't explain why they were keeping her here. What did they want with her? I looked over at her and saw she was biting her lip.

"We should get some sleep," I said. She must be tired after everything that happened today.

She nodded her head shakily still lost in thought. I shouldn't have asked her how she was kidnapped. It only brought her pain and it was selfish of me to ask her to relive it. She crawled to her side of the wall and laid down. She watched as I slowly sank down to the floor and cringed when I rolled onto the bruise on my hip from the day before. When I was finally settled I looked over at her and she was still watching me, her eyes glazing over. I was a terrible person. I needed to make this better. Distraction.

"What are the ingredients to a Sleeping Draught?" I asked.

She took a deep breath before saying, "Lavender."

"Good," I replied shutting my eyes.

"Valerian sprigs."

"Mhm," I mumbled.

"Two blobs of Flobberworm mucus. Great to think about before I fall asleep.

I laughed and reopened my eyes. Her eyes were shut and I could see a ghost of a smile on her lips.

* * *

I woke up the next day to blinding pain in my stomach. It felt hollow and empty, which it probably was take it that I haven't eaten a proper meal in a weak. I pulled up my shirt and glanced at all the injuries I had acquired in the past forty-eight hours. The cut on my chest was still a bright red, but at least it was beginning to scab over just like the other cuts. I had a black bruise on my hip that disappeared into my pants and other bruises of variety of colors all over my torso. My thigh was burning where I knew another deep slash had taken place and I felt significantly weaker than I did the day before.

I was forcing myself into a sitting position when Hermione squirmed in her sleep. She didn't wake but she moved her head and from that angle I could see a deep purple bruise on her jaw. I scanned the rest of her face and her right eye was slightly swollen, while the welt on her face from before was turning a yellow green. She couldn't keep trying to defend me. Whatever her reason was for doing so was not worth her getting hurt over.

With Hermione still sleeping, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing. It was strange. I actually missed her voice. I almost woke her just so I didn't have to sit here all alone in the quiet. She's only been here four days but I couldn't remember how I handled being in this cell all by myself. It was lonely without her talking and I was beginning to feel restless. My skin was prickling and I could feel my lungs start to constrict. No, I need to stay focused. My lungs were fine. I was fine. Don't freak out now. You can't afford to lose yourself now. Distraction. Think of something, anything. _Think of how it's possibly your fault Hermione is here._ No! No, don't think of that. _Think of how you deserve to be here. Deserve to be tortured. Deserve to be killed._ No, stop! _You let all those innocent people die when you were teen, now you are going to pay. _I didn't mean for them to be killed. I didn't want them to die! _Yes, you did. You had the opportunity to save all of them but you stood by and let them die._ I was only a kid. I couldn't do anything. _Hermione was only a kid when she helped Potter save the world._ She was only a kid. But she came from a whole different world than me. She had loving parents and friends who cared about her._ Would you like some balloons to go with your pity party?_ Stop, please stop.

"Malfoy?" I vaguely heard someone calling me but the voices in my head only got louder.

_You are a complete coward. Everyone knows it. You are going to cave to Duncan because you are a coward._ I won't! I am not a coward! I will not make him the poison! _Yes you will._

I felt hands on my face and my heart began beating even faster. "Malfoy. Come back to me."

_She will never be yours_. _Hermione will never be yours to keep._ No, please.

"Malfoy. How old is your son? How old is Scorpius?"

My head cleared slightly at the sound of my son's name. "Scorpius?"

"Yes, Scorpius. How old is he?"

"He is...he is fourteen," I stuttered.

"What house is he in?"

"R—Ravenclaw."

"What color are his eyes?"

"They are grey." The fog in my vision began to dissipate and I could see Hermione looking into my eyes, concern coating her soft brown eyes.

"What is his favorite food?"

"Fish and chips," I replied, running my hand through my hair. My breathing was going back to normal and my heart was not beating as quickly. My eyes were able to fully focus again and they snapped down to the bruise on Hermione's jaw.

"Granger!" I gained back full control in that moment and I grabbed her hands that were still on my face.

"I'm here Malfoy. You are okay," she said soothingly.

"Damn it," I leaned my head back against the wall and took a deep breath. I let the insanity take over. I almost lost myself.

"Its okay, Malfoy," Hermione said.

She let me calm down for another five minutes before retracting her hands from off my cheeks. She didn't go far though, which helped my nerves.

"Thank you," I said in a low voice.

"It's the least I can do. You have brought me back from the brink of crazy a couple of times now," she smiled. A voice in the back of my head told me I didn't deserve that smile, but I ignored it.

"It's not that hard. Just need to get the attention of the know-it-all in you." I teased.

She laughed and I embedded that sound into my memory. Her laughter ceased when we heard someone opening the steel door.

Without thinking about it, I pulled Hermione toward me and made her look at my face. "You need to let them take me. Don't fight them. Stay against the wall. Don't move."

"What? Malfoy, I can't—"

"No, you will let them take me. You can't get hurt. I _need _you to be okay." She looked ready to argue with me but Roy opened the bars to our cell.

We both stood up and I shot Hermione a look. _Please, Hermione, don't do anything._ She tilted her head away from me and I knew that meant that she wouldn't fight them but she didn't like it. Relief flooded my senses as Cliff grabbed me and began dragging me away. Hermione turned her head back toward me and I held her worried eye until she disappeared from my sight.

Today was no different than the other days. Duncan asked if I would make the potion and I refused. He left the room and Cliff started today's torture. This time they went for breaking bones. Cliff started with a couple of toes before Roy snapped my ankle in half. I couldn't stop the screams even if I tried. I blacked out a couple of times from the shattering pain and they continued as soon as I regained consciousness. Hours later, Duncan returned and asked if I changed my mind. I told him I hadn't and Cliff and Roy returned me to my cell. By the end of it, I had four broken toes, a fractured rib, a complete fracture in my ankle, two broken fingers, and my left elbow was dislocated. I couldn't move without something hurting and the only thing that kept me from giving up was the feel of Hermione's fingers running through my hair and the sound of her voice.

I had a restless sleep that night and Hermione kept me company when I would wake up. By the dark circles underneath her eyes she hadn't been sleeping well since she got here. She was curled in a ball every time I woke and she was shivering. So I somehow found a way to crawl over to her despite the agony coursing through my body and asked her to move over.

"What are you doing?" she replied.

"You're cold," I said simply.

"I'm okay. You don't have to—"

"Granger, I don't have the energy to fight with you," I breathed out before wrapping my arms around her middle. She was stiff in front of me and if I wasn't already in excruciating pain I would have felt the rejection stinging my heart.

"If you want to freeze death be my guest," I said grouchily and began rolling away.

"No," she grabbed at my arm and kept me from moving. "I just don't want to hurt you."

I looked into her soft brown eyes and could only see worry. It wasn't because she didn't want me to hold her it was because she thought she was going to hurt me! My heart fluttered at that thought and I scooted closer to her. I lifted my arm and set it down on her waist.

"You can't hurt me anymore than I already am," I said, getting comfortable against her.

She slowly began to relax and gently set her head on my chest. I could feel how cold she was through my shirt and wished I had built up the nerve to crawl over to her sooner. I tried to warm her up by running my hand up and down her arm. She shut her eyes and I hoped she would finally get some sleep. That ended quickly when her hand grazed my broken rib. I exhaled loudly and lurched away from her hand.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She immediately rolled away from and curled into a ball. "See I should just sleep over here."

I waited until the shooting pain became bearable again before reaching for her. "Come back."

She gave me a skeptical look and shook her head. "Malfoy, you are in pain. They have been doing God knows what to you and I really don't want to hurt you anymore than you already are just because I'm cold."

"Just get over here, Granger," I rolled my eyes at her.

She had this terrified look on her face but she didn't argue with me this time. When she slowly slid back into my arms I held in the contented sigh that begged to escape from my lips. That couple of minutes she was not in my arms was a couple minutes too long. Little by little she relaxed beside me and shut her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her waist once more and I rested my chin on the top of her head. Her hair tickled my chin but I didn't move away. It wasn't much but I was happy enough to be able to give Hermione this. The warmth of my body. I wanted to pull her in closer but the ache in my elbow prevented me from doing so. I wondered what this would feel like if I didn't have multiple broken bones, countless bruises, and unforgiving cuts all over my body. What it would feel like to have her arms wrapped around me without the hesitation in her eyes. What it would feel like to fall asleep next to her not for warmth but because she wanted me to.

Wait, what was I doing? I can't think like that. She didn't belong to me. I had no right to want that. It was only because we were in a dire situation and I was delirious from hunger, dehydration, and my injuries that would make me think that I may have feelings for Hermione. Yeah, the feelings weren't real. I was just imagining them.

Hermione shifted in her sleep and she snuggled into my neck. I could feel her breath on my skin and I shivered. That was when I knew I was in deep trouble.

**Author's note: **So I have no idea what you guys are thinking. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Should I continue posting? I want to hear what you guys think!


	7. Chapter 7

I was jarred awake the next morning by a voice I recognized. A voice that made my blood turn cold.

"Well isn't this cute?" Hermione jumped and scooted away from me as I stared into Daphne's icy blue eyes. "I'm sure Astoria is going to love this when I tell her."

Hermione gave me a quick glance before standing. I couldn't look her in the eye. I'm sure she was beginning to figure out who was keeping us captive and the guilt was threatening to drown me.

Daphne opened the bars and motioned for me to stand. "Come Draco."

I never really liked Daphne. Even when we were back in school I only thought of her as Pansy's annoying friend. She was a spoiled brat and thought the world should bow down at her feet. All she does is leech off her dead parents' money and shops all day. At least Astoria had a job. That is if she didn't lie about that too.

"I'm not going to ask you twice," Daphne said her eyes narrowing.

"I can't stand," I said quickly because I knew what was to come if I didn't do exactly what she said. Daphne has always been fascinated with fire growing up and I'm sure she never grew out of that.

"Why not?" She asked in a bored tone.

"My ankle is broken and so are my toes."

"You must have really pissed Roy off," Daphne laughed.

She strutted into the cell and I could see Roy and Cliff in the background, ready to jump in if Hermione and I tried anything. Daphne towered over me as she tapped her wand on her chin. I knew she did that when she was thinking. What she was thinking I had no idea. I could almost see the light bulb go off in her head and she waved her wand in her hand over my ankle. It felt like my ankle was being broken all over again. I dug my head into the cement and yelled as he bone splintered back together.

"What are you doing to him?" I heard Hermione cry out.

Daphne finished and let out a high pitched laugh. "Don't tell me the mudblood cares for you now, Draco. Oh, this is priceless."

I ignored Daphne completely and rolled my ankle. It wasn't fully healed but I knew I could put my weight on it. Carefully, I stood up and tested my ankle by taking a step. I didn't collapse right away, which was good I guess. It still hurt but it would have to do.

I heard Hermione make a noise of relief behind me but I didn't acknowledge her. No matter how badly I wanted to look at Hermione I stopped myself from doing so. If they knew I had feelings for her or even cared what happened to her she would be dead in an instant. Astoria was a jealous person at heart. Even if she didn't care about me she would still make the woman I cared about pay.

I remember how she used to rant and rave when we were young about how Daphne got all the attention. She was only thirteen when she started complaining to me that her parents loved Daphne more than her. I don't know why she came to me when her jealous fits would strike but I would listen. I had a lot on my plate with my father just getting out of Azkaban and Voldermort threatening to kill both my parents if I didn't find a way to kill Dumbledore that it was actually nice to hear about Astoria's problems. But her jealously never dissipated over her sister (or other women in general) even after her parents had died and weren't there to play favorites. She never liked it when I spoke to other women, even when it was necessary because I worked with them. I can only imagine how Astoria was to react if she knew that I was talking to Hermione. I knew the only way to keep Hermione safe was to pretend she didn't exist.

When Daphne twirled around and left the cell, I assumed I was supposed to follow. I walked out and I heard someone shut the bars behind me. Daphne led me up the stairs and back into the dining room. The first person I noticed was Astoria perched on the dining table looking at her nails. My heart began beating faster and I clenched my hands at the anger I was feeling. She looked bored as she swung her legs back and forward childishly. She didn't even seem to have any sign of remorse at what she did to Scorpius. She didn't even seem affected by what she did to me. Astoria had betrayed me. I could probably live with that if it weren't for the fact that Scorpius was here too. He was her son and she didn't even care that he was taken and thrown into a cell.

"Good morning, Draco. I hope that you slept well," Duncan said, as he always did to the start of the day.

"Oh, it sure seemed like it. I walked in on him and the mudblood _snuggling_," Daphne purred the last word.

Astoria's head popped up and finally made eye contact with me. She slid gracefully from the table and stalked closer to me. I knew I needed to do damage control before Astoria's temper got the better of her.

"I got cold last night. I only used her for her warmth. Nothing else," I said.

"It must have been freezing for you to touch a mudblood. Especially her. Just the thought of it makes me nauseous," Daphne commented.

"You better not be lying, Draco," Astoria whispered dangerously.

"Girls, now is not the time to have a jealous fit. We have work to do," Duncan said.

I looked over at Duncan and he had a blinding smile on his face. Astoria let the dangerous look disappear from her face and she let a look of innocence replace it. She smiled beautifully at Duncan before skipping over to him.

"Uncle, may I have some time spent alone with my husband? I have missed him dearly and wish to have our reunion in private if you do not mind," she said sweetly.

_Please say no. Please don't leave me in a room alone with her._ I never wished for anything as hard as I did now. Nothing good could come from being in a room alone with Astoria.

But nothing ever went my way. "Will you be alright by yourselves? I can have Roy stand watch."

"No we will be fine. Draco will do nothing to me," she smiled.

"Very well," he motioned for the others to leave the room. Daphne rolled her eyes and left through a door to the left. "If you need anything just shout."

Astoria threw her arms around his neck and said, "Thank you, Uncle." He gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving the two of us alone.

Astoria turned toward me and the look of innocence was still on her face.

"Draco," she said and opened her arms to hug me. I stepped away from her embrace and narrowed my eyes at her.

She looked at me sadly and crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing emerald green robes with a gold lining the edges. Her blond hair, as always, was perfect down to her bangs, hanging in springy curls over her shoulder. Her curls were nothing like Hermione's whose curls were more loose and wild, shaping her face nicely. Astoria's curls were not natural and they made her look like a little girl. However, I think this was the look she was going for because she curled her hair more often than not even though I have told her countless times I love it when it is in its raw form, silky and straight. Her makeup was not caked on like how Daphne does hers but more natural, making her blue eyes stand out against her pale skin. She really hadn't changed much since I met her. She still acted much younger than she was, but knew how to turn into an enchanting woman in an instant. Even with her childish curls, she was as beautiful as ever, which made this so much harder.

"Oh, Draco. Don't be mad at me. This was never my intention when I met you. My uncle is all my sister and I have left and what he says goes," she frowned.

She looked generally sad about my predicament and I wanted to believe she was telling the truth. But then the memory of the day I was kidnapped flooded my mind and I knew I couldn't believe anything she says.

"My son is sitting in a cell right now and you expect me to not have any sort of resentment toward you?" I said in a low voice, trying to hold in my anger.

"Our son," she corrected.

"A mother would never let their son be held captive."

"Do you think I like that Scorpius is being held in that crude cell?" I didn't respond to her and she sighed. "You don't know me at all then."

"No I don't, Astoria. If I ever thought this would happen I would have made sure to stay as far away from you as possible."

She walked slowly towards me until she was inches away. I felt my heart skip when she leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You don't mean that."

I hated that she was able to effect me in this way. My eyes shut involuntarily when she ran her finger down my cheek. "I'm sorry they did this to you." I felt her warm breath on my ear and I shivered.

She set both her hands on my cheek and kissed my nose. I reopened my eyes to see her giggle before she rubbed her finger over the spot she kissed, cleaning the lipstick off I assume. "You know all of this could be put to a stop. All you have to do is make Uncle the potion."

I pulled away from her suddenly, my head clearing. I felt like an idiot. How could I let myself fall underneath Astoria's spell? Again. She looked taken aback and stepped away from me.

"I won't make that potion," I said.

She pouted at me just as she always did when she didn't get her way. "Why not?" She whined.

"He wants to me to make a deadly poison."

She rolled her eyes. "So?"

I let out a breath of frustration and pulled at my hair. Astoria did this from time to time. I don't know if she played dumb to purposely tick me off or she really was that senseless.

"Who does Duncan want to kill?" I asked when I knew I wouldn't say something stupid that would result in her uncle coming back.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," Astoria frowned.

If I played this right I could easily worm the information out of her. Astoria was a major gossip and couldn't keep something in if she tried. I walked close to her and looked deep into her eyes. "I didn't know people tell _you _what to do now. Becoming quite a house elf you are."

I knew I got to her when she scowled up at me. "I know what you are doing."

"I'm not doing anything. All I asked you for was a name. It's not like I can go and warn them anyways," I said, touching her arm.

"Why do you care who Duncan wants to kill?" she asked, pretending not to care but I can tell I was getting to her.

"If I make this potion, it is going to kill them."

"You never cared about killing people before. Who knows how many people you killed during the Second Wizarding War." She began primping her hair and missed the look of fury on my face.

No matter how many times I told her I didn't, she thoroughly believed I killed Dumbledore. She also placed in her head that I killed others during that time too. But that was the thing; I didn't kill a soul and couldn't imagine taking a life. The shattering guilt that I felt for the people I could have saved was enough to leave me breathless and shaking. Astoria on the other hand talked about the Second Wizarding War like it was game and killing people was just like taking out the trash; gross but necessary.

"Just tell me, Astoria."

"I don't know why Uncle is keeping this from you. I mean, you have wanted him dead for a long time I'm sure. If he had told you who the potion was for you probably would have started it right away."

She was stalling and I was growing impatient. "Astoria!"

"Okay, okay. It's Harry Potter."

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading and thank you for the reviews! I am glad you are enjoying it! Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

It was like the wind had been knocked out of me. Duncan wanted me to make a poison for Potter. Not so it would kill someone I don't know but so it would kill Potter. I thought of Hermione in our cell telling me stories of his children. I thought of when she told me how he almost set the kitchen on fire one time cooking for his wife. Hermione glowed when she talked about him and not in a lover's way. She glowed because her relationship with him was more than just friends. They were family. It would kill Hermione if Potter died.

"Why does he want to kill, Potter?" I asked, keeping my face blank.

"He is the reason Uncle was in Azkaban for seventeen years. He is the reason my parents are dead. He is the reason I had to grow up with no one but my sister!" Astoria yelled. Her cheeks were turning a rosy red from her anger and her eyes had hardened into slits.

I chose to remain silent after her outburst. It was better to let her cool down on her own. She took a couple of deep breaths before she walked up to me. Her eyes were opening in that enticing way she always did when she wanted something. She pouted her lip out and gave me a puppy dog face.

"Draco, won't you make the potion for me? Potter has hurt me as much as he did Uncle. Don't you want to make him pay for hurting me?" she asked, making sure to embellish her cleavage when she leaned toward me.

"Killing him is not the answer, Astoria."

She pulled my face down to her lips and kissed me in a way she hadn't done in a long time. I felt my insides twist and my heart lurch. All I wanted from Astoria was to love me unconditionally. I really thought she did when we first got married. But it all changed after she found out she was pregnant. She was young when she had Scorpius, only nineteen. She stopped kissing me after he was born. The only thing I would ever get out of her was a small peck here or there, nothing that made me feel like I was loved and wanted. After awhile she stopped touching me too. It hurt being around her when I loved her so much and she couldn't make the effort to let me know she loved me too, if she even did. I stayed with her mostly for Scorpius' sake but a part of me hoped she would love me back in the same way I did her.

Kissing her now was bringing up all the old wants and desires I had for her before I was kidnapped. I was too weak to fight it off and my arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. She only deepened the kiss and I sighed into her mouth. I felt her smile against my lips before pulling away. "Do it for me, Draco. Do it to show me how much you love me."

I felt my heart shatter in that moment and my arms dropped back down to my sides. She didn't love me. She was only using me so I would agree to kill Potter. I stepped away from her feeling hollow inside and let my face go expressionless. "I won't kill a person for you, Astoria."

She looked confused when I had stepped away from her and now she looked furious. "You _will_ make the potion."

"No I won't," I said defiantly.

Before I knew what hit me, Astoria pulled out her wand and sent a curse at me. I flew back against the wall and grunted when I hit my head. I slid to the floor as Astoria let out a childish scream. As I was trying to get back to my feet she stalked over to me and pointed her wand underneath my neck.

"You are a complete and utter fool, Draco Malfoy. You think protecting Potter makes you a better man? Well it doesn't. It just means you are going to be here longer. It means Scorpius is going to be here longer," she hissed.

"Let him go, Astoria," I growled.

"The only reason he hasn't been harmed is because I told Uncle no one was allowed to touch him. But I can quickly change my mind." My eyes widened and I wanted nothing more than to inflict pain onto her but she dug her wand into my neck in warning. "I am going to call Uncle in now and you are going to tell him you will make the potion."

She let go of me and walked away calling for her uncle as she did so. I couldn't move from where I was standing while everybody reentered the dining room. Astoria immediately turned back into the sweet, innocent woman she pretended to be when being particularly fake.

"Uncle, Draco has something he wants to say to you," she smiled.

"Excellent. Let's hear it," he beamed.

They all looked at me and waited for me to say something. I took a breath before holding my head up high and saying, "I won't kill Harry Potter."

So many things happened at once. Daphne smirked like she knew Astoria would fail in her mission to convince me to make the potion. Astoria completely lost it and fired the Cruciatus curse at me while Duncan shot her a furious look. Roy smiled darkly as I writhed in pain on the floor and Cliff rushed over to stop Astoria.

The electric shocks coursing through my body ceased and I let a moan escape from my lips.

"You incompetent piece of scum! I regret ever marrying your sorry arse. You do not deserve to share the same air as I do let alone the same bed. Blaise Zabini was a better lay than you for crying out loud," I was shaking as she continued to yell at me. "We used to do it in our bed all the time while you were at work. He used to make me _beg _for release. Who knows if Scorpius is even yours."

"That's enough, Astoria." Duncan said authoritatively.

Astoria gave me one more harsh look before leaving the room. After Astoria left, Daphne let out a high pitched laugh.

"This was way better than I expected it to be. I don't regret missing Mimi's party now," she wiped away fake tears from her eyes.

"Leave Daphne," Duncan demanded and Daphne did as she was told.

I watched as Duncan walked closer and look down at me. My body couldn't stop shaking and I felt like throwing up.

"Take him back to his cell. Don't bring them any food or water tonight." When Cliff and Roy didn't move fast enough for Duncan, he shouted so loudly my ears began to ring, "Now!"

Roy and Cliff lifted me to my feet and led me away. I was still trembling when they threw me down into my cell. They shut the steel door and still I didn't move. I never felt so broken in my life. She never loved me. I was just someone to play with until she got bored. _We used to do it in our bed all the time while you were at work. _She slept with the only friend I had. _He used to make me _beg_ for release._ Anger began to fill the hole in my chest until it was too much and I jumped to my feet, letting out an indignant shout. I have never felt this type of fury before. _Who knows if Scorpius is even yours. _I wanted to kill her. I wanted to mangle her body until she was nothing more than a mess of a person left. I never wanted a person dead until this moment and the only thing keeping me from killing Astoria now was the bars. I took hold of them and shook them with all my might. The bars wouldn't give though and I let out another enraged shriek.

"Malfoy!" Hermione yelled and I stopped in my attempt to break the bars open. My head fell against the cool surface and I let myself crumble to the ground. I couldn't stop the tears even if I tried. I was nothing left but a shell of a man.

I felt a hand slide onto my shoulder and I didn't move away from it. "Malfoy?"

I couldn't look at her. Not after what I found out about Potter. I tucked my chin closer to my chest closing my eyes as I continued to cry.

"Hey," she said softly. "Look at me."

I shook my head back and forward once. Maybe she would get the hint and leave me alone if I didn't talk to her. But this was Hermione. She was stubborn as hell in school and she never stopped now that she was older.

She pulled me away from the bars and forced me to look at her. I reluctantly opened my watery eyes at her and she had a look of concern on her face before giving me a brilliant smile. "There. Was that so hard?" She teased lightly.

I wiped at my eyes furiously and let out a shaky breath. "She never loved me."

The smile slipped from Hermione's lips and she looked at me sadly. "Astoria?"

"I'm such an idiot," I ran my fingers through my hair agitatedly, not looking at Hermione.

"Malfoy, it's not your fault," she said, setting her hand on my leg in comfort.

"But it is my fault. I fell for her tricks and now we are going to die in here," I felt like dying already. Just put me out of my misery already.

"We are not going to die. I promise we are not going to die." She wrapped her arms around me and began rubbing soothing circles in my back. I set my head on her shoulder in defeat and shut my eyes.

"You can't know that," I said pessimistically.

"No, I don't know. But I do believe."

* * *

We fell asleep starving and cold that night. Hermione didn't hesitate to crawl into my arms this time and curl into my side. She was shivering as she wrapped her arms around my stomach and laid her head on my shoulder. It took me a couple of hours to stop crying and even longer to stop shaking. Hermione was there for me the whole time, whispering comforting words and running her fingers through my hair until we both couldn't keep our eyes open.

As we lay on the hard, freezing concrete I thought of Scorpius. After a while Astoria's words stopped taunting me when I realized I didn't care if Scorpius was biologically mine or not, he was still my son. He will always be my son. I've always been there for Scorpius since the moment he was born. I was there for him when he cried all through the night, unlike Astoria who would complain that she needed to sleep if she was going to take care of him all day while I was at work. I was there for him when he broke his arm the first time he rode a broomstick, and then the second time. I was away in Ireland collecting herbs for a potion I was making at the time when I got the news that he broke his arm for the second time. I had apparated as soon as I heard and made sure I was there when he woke up. Let's just say he never got back on a broom again. I stood up for him when he got heat from not only my father but also Astoria when he got into Ravenclaw.

Now that I think about it Astoria was a terrible mother. I guess I was too blinded by my love for her to notice how awful she was to him. I still remember her words she said when we got the letter that he got placed into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin_. "Our child is a freak! I won't be able to show my face to my friends again when they find out he isn't in Slytherin,"_ she had said. I remember getting mad at her words but not saying anything. That was until he came back from winter break and she told him that she was going to speak to the headmistress and demand he be sorted into Slytherin. I remember Scorpius looking crestfallen and going to his room after she said this to him. When I went to go see if he was okay he was crying on his bed.

_"Don't cry, Scorpius," I said, sitting down on the foot of the bed. _

_"Sorry, daddy," he sat up and rubbed his hands over his eyes. _

_"Why are you crying?" I asked. _

_"Because you and mommy hate me," he replied, pulling his legs to his chest._

_My face fell and I pulled Scorpius onto my lap. "I don't hate you, son. I could never hate you. Even if you were placed in Hufflepuff I would always love you." _

_This made Scorpius chuckle and he glanced up at me. "You aren't mad?"_

_"About what?"_

_"Because I am not a Slytherin like you and mommy and daddy and everyone else in the Malfoy family." He looked so small and fragile in my arms and I knew my next words could break him into a million pieces if I was not careful. _

_But before I could decide what to say, I said, "I am so proud that you were placed in Ravenclaw." It was then that I knew my words were sincere._

The smile on Scorpius' face when I said that was something I would never Astoria said to me mattered because Scorpius _is_ my son.

I fell into an agitated sleep. It was freezing but I would wake up sweating. Sometimes I would wake from a nightmare and other times because the cut on my chest would begin to burn or I was leaning too hard on my broken rib. Hermione would wake occasionally when I did and would tell me stories of her childhood to lull me back to sleep. But other times I would just lie there breathing hard and wondering when all of this was going to end.

**Arthur's Note: **Thank you all for the reviews! I love reading them! Let me know how this chapter is.


	9. Chapter 9

Somehow I was able to get a few hours of sleep and when I woke the next morning I found my hand in Hermione's. I don't remember grabbing her hand in the middle of the night. When I pulled away she jarred awake and looked around frantically.

"It's okay," I said calmly.

She nodded before reaching for the hem of my shirt. When she began to pull it up, I jumped away from her. "What are you doing?"

"You were complaining about your chest last night. I just want to make sure it is not infected," she said, waiting for me to nod my permission this time before she reached for my shirt.

She carefully lifted the shirt up to my neck and inhaled sharply. I watched her face go from mild panic to contemplation. It was almost like she was trying to figure out how to make a really difficult potion.

"Is it bad?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her face. I didn't want to see what was making her brain work so hard.

"No, this is nothing. I've seen a lot worse," she laughed a little too high and I knew she may have seen a lot worse but nothing she couldn't handle when she had her wand. Without a wand a witch or wizard was useless. By the look on Hermione's face she didn't like feeling useless.

"Hey, it's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore," I lied.

She gave me a disbelieving look when we heard the steel door open. I put my shirt back down and stood. It was just Roy and Cliff this time. I waited for them to open the bars before taking a step forward.

"No, we are not here for you today," Roy said, putting his hand out to stop me.

My eyes widened and before I could stop him Cliff was grabbing for Hermione. I leapt forward and got as far as inches away from hitting Cliff but Roy was on me in a second. He hit me in my ribs and I flew to the ground gasping for air. Hermione was struggling to get away but Cliff was too strong for her.

"Draco!" She sounded terrified as they pulled her from the cell. She didn't make it easy for them though, by twisting and turning in Cliffs arms, and clawing his arms with her nails. I reached for her but it was useless. I was useless without magic.

Roy slammed the bars closed and I curled in on myself. They took her. They took Hermione and I couldn't do anything about it.

It isn't even ten minutes later before I hear her let out a bloodcurdling scream. I began rocking back and forward, covering my ears. The sound of her screams has haunted my nightmares since I first heard them at the manor. I've heard a lot of people scream in agony from the hand of my aunt but nothing like the screams Hermione released that day. They sounded as if they were being ripped from her throat and a part of her soul was being hacked from her body. Hearing them again was hurting me worse than the tortures Roy and Cliff had inflicted on me.

The screaming lasted for hours. I began pacing in the cell hoping they stopped soon. Her screaming was getting weaker and weaker as the third hour passed until it stopped altogether. But I could still hear something.

I walked closer to the bars and strained to hear what that sound was. It almost sounded like a child crying noisily. A little boy. Hugo! He was alive!

I exhaled loudly and let a smile slip onto my face. He was alive. If there was any good in Hermione being taken it was this.

Her screaming started back up again fifteen minutes later and the little joy that I got from knowing her son was actually alive vanished. I went back to rocking back and forward against the wall counting dragons. _One dragon. Two dragon. Three dragon. _

Another couple hours passed and I began to wonder if Hermione was ever going to come back. I knew they had no problem killing her and that petrified me.

She did return though sometime later. Cliff threw her into the cell and she stumbled and fell hard. I waited until he left before rushing to her side. I didn't want them knowing I cared for Hermione because Astoria would have her killed in a second. I'm sure they were torturing her only because Astoria heard we were cuddling the night before.

When I saw how pale Hermione's face was I swallowed hard. I don't know what they did to her but she didn't look good. I was scared to touch her so I held my hands awkwardly in my lap

"Hey," I said, not knowing what else to say.

She twitched and shut her eyes. A tremor shot down her spine and I badly wanted to help her in some way.

"What can I do?" I asked her powerlessly.

"It hurts," she cried.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm so sorry," I said and tentatively pulled her into my lap.

I maneuvered us so I was leaning against the wall and had her sitting sideways in my lap, her head resting against my shoulder. When we were both situated I wrapped my arms around her and began stroking soothingly up and down her arm. She twitched now and then and began breathing hard after each tremor that ran through her body, but she seemed as relaxed as she would ever get.

"Hey, want to hear something good?" I asked when the twitches were far between each other.

She moved her head slightly so she could look up at me, waiting to hear anything I had to say.

"Your son is alive. I heard him. He's okay," I smiled down at her.

I watched as the relief slapped her in the face and tears began streaming down her cheeks in earnest. She wrapped her arms around my neck and burrowed her face in the crook of my collar bone.

"My baby is alive. Thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you."

I looked down at her confused before saying, "For what?"

"For not being an insufferable git," she chortled.

The confusion swept off my face and was replaced by a smile.

"Anything for the know-it-all."

* * *

The next day happens in very much the same way as the day before. Cliff grabs for Hermione and I have to take a hit to the broken rib to prevent me from helping her. It feels like they keep her longer than before. The only thing keeping me from going insane was counting dragons or listing the constellations, trying in vain to ignore Hermione's screams.

When Cliff threw her in the cell for the night along with some bread and a water bottle, I felt calmer. I pulled her into my lap again and we shared the water bottle back and forward as we ate our bread in silence.

"They've been asking me about Harry," she finally says.

I was about to put the last of my bread in my mouth when the words sank in. They are keeping her here because she is Potter's best friend. They wanted any information they could get because they wanted to kill him. They weren't getting anything from me so they have turned to torturing Hermione for information, looking for any way to kill Potter. It was my fault she was in pain.

"What did they ask you?" I asked, trying to push away the overwhelming guilt.

"They wanted me to tell them where he lives."

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing," she sucked in a breath as a new wave of pain hit her.

_Good._ Hermione was a lot stronger than she looked. She didn't break underneath my aunt's interrogation and she was only seventeen at the time. Of course she wouldn't break now. If Harry's life is in Hermione's hands he will be safe. But how long until they realize that? When they do there will be no reason to keep her alive. The thought of Hermione dying made my chest ache. She couldn't die. I didn't know what I would do if they were to kill her. I was barely surviving as it was. I inhaled sharply when I realized what I just thought. I needed Hermione to survive. When did that happen?

"You know something," she swallowed and cringed as she got more comfortable in my arms.

I looked down at her and found her watching me. I should tell her about Potter. She had a right to know. "That potion they want me to make, it's for Potter."

She didn't look surprised and I am sure she figured it out for herself. "Why?"

"Astoria blames him for the death of her parents and Potter had her uncle, Duncan Greengrass, placed in Azkaban. Duncan took part in many murders during the Second Wizarding War."

"Why does she blame Harry for the death of her parents? He didn't kill them," she said.

"She thinks he is responsible for everyone who died in the war."

"That's ridiculous," Hermione scoffed.

"That's Astoria."

We are both quiet after that and I rested my head against the wall. Just another reason being in love with Astoria was stupid on my part. How could I have loved her for so long? This wasn't how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to be happy. The war was supposed to be the end of all the bad things in my life and a new beginning. I was living with the guilt of doing things I now regret from the war, but I was able to obtain a little bit of happiness by marrying Astoria. But it was all fake. Everything about that marriage was fake.

"Malfoy," she said hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"What...why is Ast—"

"Why am I being kept locked up in a cell by my wife?" I helped her out. She nodded slowly at me and gave my arm a compassionate squeeze. "She never loved me or Scorpius. Marriage was just a game to her but she got bored and began sleeping with other people."

"I'm sorry," she said but I shook my head at her. She had no reason to be sorry.

"It's my fault for falling for her. I knew she was a spoiled brat who thought only of herself when I met her but I still let her take my heart." I felt the sting of betrayal wash over me before continuing. "She didn't even bat an eyelash when we were taken."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "What happened?"

"I had the day off from work that day and was working in the study when four men came. Astoria must have turned off the alarm system because I got no warning before they burst through the front door..."

_I walked out of my study when I heard the front door slam open. Four men were spreading out throughout the house and my heart began to beat faster. Scorpius. I have to get to Scorpius. Without looking back I ran up the stairs, heading toward Scorpius' room. He was walking out just as I reached the second landing. _

_"Dad?" He looked confusedly at me as I grabbed him by the hand and took off running. _

_"We have to find your mother," I said frantically. _

_Scorpius looked down the stairs when we heard something break. He didn't need telling twice and we ran down the hallway together toward the master bedroom. Need to find Astoria so we can get out of here. We both slammed into the door and I got it open just as a surly man ran up the stairs. He saw us run inside and I shut the door as fast as I could. I quickly locked it and chastised myself for not grabbing my wand. _

_"Scorpius, do you have your wand?" I held the door closed as someone banged into the other side. _

_His gray eyes were widened and I could feel the fear radiating off of him as he shook his head back and forward. _

_"Go into the bathroom and lock the door," I said._

_"But dad, what about you?" His lip was quivering and he looked petrified. _

_"Now, son!" I demanded. _

_I heard the lock click into place just as the door was blasted off its hinges. The force of it threw me halfway cross the room and I crashed into Astoria's vanity table. Her makeup and other items flew to the floor as I got my balance back. The surly man entered and I flew at him, tackling him around the waist. We fell to the floor and I was able to hit his wand away from him. Our shouting must have alerted the others because suddenly I had two pairs of hands throwing me back against the wall. _

_"The other one is hiding in the bathroom," the surly man growled before standing and picking up his wand. He then walked over to me, pointed his wand, and ropes flew around me. _

_I fought against the ropes as they broke down the bathroom door. Scorpius yelled for me and I struggled harder to get out of my restraints and to my son. He came running out a few seconds later and surly man caught him around his waist. _

_"Dad!" he yelled. _

_"Let him go!" I growled. _

_Scorpius was kicking his legs out trying to escape when a woman spoke from the doorway. _

_"Stop swinging the kid around. If he scratches my vanity table I will curse you." I saw Astoria standing there running her fingers through her hair lazily. _

_"Astoria, run!" I shouted. _

_She looked down at me and began to laugh. "Oh sweetie, they aren't here for me." _

_My heart was slamming against my chest as I realized the implications of her words. They weren't here for her because they were working for her. Her bright blue eyes were the last thing I saw before another man grabbed me and disapparated us both away. _

"She didn't even care. I've never seen Scorpius so scared and all she cared about was her vanity table," I shook my head at how appalling the whole story sounded.

Hermione began rubbing my arm comfortingly and I sighed. Here she was in pain and she was still trying to comfort me. Her selflessness was beyond anything I've ever experienced. My skin was tingling at her touch and my heart sped up. I don't deserve this. She should hate me. It was my wife and her family that placed her in here. She was sitting in my arms groaning and twitching from the aftershocks of the day's tortures and it was because of me.

I needed to do something for her. Anything that would stop the pain coursing through her body. So the next day when Roy and Cliff came I stood up, my mind set. Hermione cowered in the corner, her body already beginning to shake in anticipation. But she would be safe for today. She had to be.

"I want to talk to Duncan," I said before Cliff could walk towards Hermione.

"Get out of the way," Cliff snarled.

"Let me talk Duncan," I said, not moving an inch.

"What do you want to talk to Duncan for?" Roy challenged, holding his hand out to Cliff who let out a breath of frustration.

I could feel Hermione's eyes on the back of my head but I didn't look back at her when I said, "I'll do it. I'll make the potion."

**Arthur's Note: **I appreciate all your reviews and I hope you guys are liking the story so far! Keep telling me what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

The walk to the dining room was quicker than I would've liked it to be. I needed time to think. How was I going to pull this off? I had no intention of making the potion but I needed to produce something or they would go back to torturing Hermione. Need to think of something.

When we entered, Duncan was there sitting in an armchair reading a book. He looked up when Roy cleared his throat and he set his book down on the arm.

"Draco, this is a surprise. I was not expecting you today," he said pleasantly.

"He says he has something to tell you," Cliff explained.

"Well, let's hear it." Duncan stood and folded his hands in front of him expectantly.

I needed to keep Hermione safe. But she will hate me if I make a poison to kill Potter. _If_ I make a poison for Potter. It came to me so suddenly that I had to stop the smile that threatened to take over my face. "I'll make your potion."

"Excellent. I knew you would come around. You may begin working immediately," Duncan smirked and sat back down with his book.

I turned toward the table and looked at the items on its surface. There were many different ingredients and tools that I could use but not the things that I would need to make the potion I had in mind. I picked up the valerian root and sniffed it. When it gave off the right scent I put it in the pile of things I would use. But this was all that was in that pile.

"If you want me to make this potion I am going to need a little more than this to work with," I said, not looking up from the table.

"All of these items are used in some type of poison. This is all you will need," Duncan replied.

My heart sped up slightly but I swallowed down the anxiety and said, "I am creating a new potion for you that will make it impossible for a person to be revived as soon as it touches their lips."

"That is mighty ambitious for someone who did not want to make the potion in the first place," he said suspiciously.

"Potions are my life. I never half-ass things."

"Splendid. Make a list and Roy will get you your ingredients."

They took me back to my cell after that. When I walked inside Hermione was sitting in a corner and didn't look up when I entered.

I didn't have to ask to know that she was angry with me. Her posture was stiff and she was curling in on herself. I sat down on the opposite wall and waited to see if she would say something. She didn't. For well over an hour she was silent.

I hated not talking to her. It was putting me on edge. The ringing in my ears was deafening and I could feel my skin tingling. She needed to know it wasn't what she thought. I wasn't making a poison to kill Potter. But I had a feeling we could be listened in on to and I knew I couldn't come right out and say what I was doing. If I was going to tell her I needed to be subtle. But how?

"Granger?" My voice was throaty from not using it in so long.

She didn't respond to me or make any move to acknowledge she was listening to me. I scooted closer to her and called her name once more but she ignored me.

"Granger, can you talk to me? Or at least listen to what I have to say?" I asked.

She continued ignoring me and I tentatively set my hand on her shoulder. That was obviously a terrible idea because as soon as I touched her she swung around and pushed me away, hitting my rib in the process. I wheezed and saw a couple of black dots enter my vision. _Don't black out. _I blinked the black dots away and focused on Hermione's face. She looked ready to curse me into oblivion. If she had a wand I don't doubt she would have. Her eyes were in slits and her nostrils were flaring. I exhaled shakily as the pain in my rib subsided to a dull pain.

"It's not what you think," I said warily.

"Are you making the potion?" she asked in a tone that made me scoot a little away from her.

They could be listening. I needed to be careful. "Yes, I am making the potion. But—"

"Then it is exactly what I think! Harry is going to die because of you!" she yelled.

I flinched and this only seemed to make her even more furious. "Stay away from me."

She turned away and I knew I was losing her. I couldn't lose her though. She was the only thing keeping me sane. I grabbed her arm and forced her to turn toward me. "Granger—"

"Don't touch me!" she screamed and tried pushing me away.

I bit my lip hard from crying out as she punched me hard in my chest, right where my cut was. I grabbed hold of both her wrists and looked her straight in the eye. "Hermione, listen to me. LISTEN!"

She paused in her thrashing for a moment and I took that chance to explain what I was doing to the best of my ability. "Do you remember our very first lesson with Snape?"

Hermione looked dumbfounded at my question and I continued quickly. "Do you remember that _deadly poison _Snape told us about?"

She still looked confused as she said, "What?"

"The poison Snape told us about. The one with asphodel," I whispered.

Her eyes widened in understanding and I knew that she knew that I was not planning on killing Potter with a deadly poison at all. I was going to make them think I was making a deadly poison but in reality I was going to brew a batch of Draught of Living Death. It was a tricky potion that not many people attempt to brew. We were required to make it once in Advanced Potions but no one was able to make it except Potter. I never did figure out how he was able to do it. Potter was rotten at potions yet he was able to get the perfect pale color that the draught emits. It didn't make sense.

Hermione was still staring at me and hadn't said a word yet. I know she understood what I meant though. Not many people would, which made it safe to say just that simple ingredient. She would know I am not trying to kill Potter. Yet she didn't say anything. I couldn't even tell what she was thinking.

"I know you care for Potter, but it is the only way for me to get out of here alive," I said, encoded with meaning. To an outsider it sounded like I was being my selfish self, but I hoped that Hermione understood that it was not me who I was trying to save.

After an agonizing couple of minutes, she slowly nodded at me and I knew she understood.

The next morning I was shaken awake. It was still dark out and it took my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. I sat up groggily and looked around frantically. Hermione was sitting close to me and waiting patiently for me to come to. She looked scared and small, huddling her knees to her chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still trying to figure out what had given her that worried look.

"They are going to kill me, aren't they?" The way she said it was like she already knew the answer.

I was taken aback for a second before pulling her even closer to me. She didn't resist and let me wrap my arms around her. "No. You are not going to die."

"They are going to realize soon that I won't give them anything and they will kill me."

"Stop talking like that. You aren't going to die," I said, trying to calm my beating heart. I didn't like this conversation one bit. She couldn't die. Just the thought of it was making my whole body tense up and a sickening feeling to reside in my stomach.

"Just promise me something?" Her soft brown eyes looked up at me and they held so much pain in them I let her continue. "Please make sure my kids get out safely. Make sure they get back to Ron. Tell them I'm sorry and I Iove them."

"Granger," my voice broke as I began running my fingers through her hair.

"Promise me," she pleaded.

"You will tell them yourself because we are going to get out of here, okay?" I needed her to stop talking like this. It was grating my sanity listening to Hermione say these things.

She didn't say anything and I pulled her head to rest on my shoulder. "Don't give up, Granger. I need you."

"I'm not giving up. I am just thinking realistically," she mumbled into my shirt.

"I will figure something out. Just don't give up on me," I said shakily.

"Okay," she replied. Her response wasn't much but it calmed me enough to fall back asleep.

The steel door being opened woke me. Hermione was already scooting away from me into the corner of the cell. I stayed seated where I was. I know I agreed to make the potion but I was not going to make it easy for them. Roy opened the bars and something wasn't right. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Hermione.

I shot up despite the pain that jolted through my torso and put myself between Hermione and Roy.

"Move," he said through gritted teeth.

"I said I would make the potion. I am supposed to go. Not her." I stood my ground hoping he changed his mind and took me instead.

"It almost sounds like you care, Malfoy," Cliff snickered in the doorway.

I ignored him and took a step forward. Roy was quick. I didn't even have time to defend myself before he had my hurt arm wrapped behind my back and shoved against the wall. I cringed at the fresh set of pain that was now wracking through my arm.

"Move," Roy growled in Hermione's direction.

No. They can't take her again. I attempted to get away from Roy's hold but he only restrained his hold on me even tighter. I grunted when he suddenly slammed my head into the wall.

"Stop, you're hurting him!" Hermione shouted.

"Cliff," Roy ordered.

I heard footsteps then struggling. In vain, I tried to get away and help Hermione but it was useless. I was too weak and there was nothing I could do. Roy threw me on the hard cement when Cliff had gotten Hermione out of the cell and followed after the other man. The sound of the bars slamming in place made me shut my eyes in complete despair.

I had failed her yet again. They were going to hurt her again and I could do nothing to stop it. What if she is right? What if they killed her? No. Don't think like that. But I could already feel the thought of Hermione dead and me all alone in this cell beginning to seep into my thoughts and my head felt like a belt was tightening around it. I couldn't let the insane thoughts take over though. I couldn't lose myself when there was a chance Hermione could come back. No, Hermione _is_ coming back. I needed to be right in the head when she came back.

It was easier said than done and I spent the rest of the day telling myself that she was coming back and pushing the insanity away. I almost gave up hope when it started to get dark. Where was she? Why haven't they brought her back? It was getting late. They should have brought her back by now. I listened for any sounds but I heard nothing. Not even the sound of her screams which had stopped awhile ago. It was quiet in my cell and it was making the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. I could just feel the start of the insanity sneaking in when the steel door opened.

I sat up and watched as Roy opened the bars. They were bringing her back. I could feel myself immediately begin to calm and I waited for Cliff to come in view with Hermione in tow. But he never did. Roy threw in a water bottle and four pieces of bread and four slices of cheese before shutting the bars.

"Compliments of Master Duncan. Wouldn't want you to lose your strength," Roy snickered.

"Where is she? Did you kill her?" I jumped up and gripped the bars in anticipation of his answer.

But he never gave me one and instead laughed loudly and cruelly until he left out the steel door. My shoulders slumped and I sunk to the ground. My resolve to keep calm was diminishing by every minute Hermione was not here. I could feel my hands begin to shake as I picked up the water.

The voices in my head were just getting to an all time high when the bars opened suddenly. I hadn't even heard the steel door open. My head lifted in time to see Cliff drop her to the ground. He left as quickly as he had come and I shot at Hermione. She wasn't moving and her eyes were shut tight. I thought the worst when I saw the blood trickling down from her temple.

"Hermione? Oh God, please be okay."

I put two fingers on her neck, looking for the pulse point. When I finally found the faint thumping against my fingers I let out a loud exhale. Relief flooded my system and I nearly cried out in relief. I checked the rest of her body for injuries but the only one I could see was the one bleeding from her head. They must be using the Cruciatus curse on her. Lifting the hem of my shirt I poured some water on it before lifting it to her head and wiping the wound as clean as I could. She didn't wake while I worked and I hoped that she would soon.

Instinctively, I wanted us as far as way from the bars as possible so I attempted to drag Hermione into our corner, but my arm was still burning from early and the pain in my ribs was making it hard to breathe. I waited a moment to let the pain reside slightly before I dragged her a little more. It took me close to fifteen minutes before I had us huddled in the corner, the water bottle and food close by. Carefully, I set her in my lap again with her head resting on my shoulder and my good arm wrapped protectively around her waist. Her knee just skimmed my broken rib the way it was bent so I set my hand on her thigh and ran it down her leg to extend it. A blush ran up my neck and I was a little glad she wasn't awake for that. After we were both settled I began running my fingers through her tangled hair.

"Come on, Hermione. Please wake up," I murmured into her temple.

Every so often I would check to see if she was still breathing. When her warm breath tickled my hand I would relax. It felt like a long time had passed when I finally felt her begin to stir. The cell had been dark for awhile so it must be the middle of the night when she let out a tortured groan.

When her eyes finally opened I let out a shaky breath and pushed the insanity completely from my head.

"Malfoy?" She asked tentatively in the dark.

"I'm here. How are you feeling?" I asked running my hand up and down her arm comfortingly.

She groaned again before trying to sit up. She hissed when her arm brushed against my side and she fell back into my chest.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't move for a moment. What hurts?" I asked her.

"Everything." Her voice cracked and I pulled her even closer. Her voice cut straight through me and I willed myself to stay calm. Freaking out was not going to help her.

"I'm sorry. You're safe now. I'm here," I said, rocking us slightly.

I felt her clench at my shirt and didn't say anything when her fingernails would dig into my skin. "They were mocking me. I wouldn't tell them where Harry lived and they said he was going to die regardless. They said I could choose how he died. They said—"

"Granger, stop. It's over. Don't think about what they said," I told her. She was shaking in my arms and I couldn't tell if it was the emotional trauma she just endured or the aftershocks of the Cruciatus Curse.

I held her until she began to relax. After awhile she stopped shaking but she would still twitch from time to time. I continued running my hand through her hair trying to soothe her to sleep and eventually she did. Her breathing evened out and I set my head back on the wall, closing my eyes also.


	11. Chapter 11

A blinding pain in my torso ripped me from my slumber the next morning and a sharp cry fell from my lips. I snapped open my eyes and saw that Hermione's knee was once more digging into my broken rib. I set my hand on her leg and attempted to push it away but the pain was leaving me weak and out of breath.

"Gran...ger," I stuttered out.

Black spots were already entering my vision and my head was spinning. Another pitiful noise left my lips and this time Hermione woke up. Her eyes widened and she quickly rolled off of me. It only brought me temporary relief before the excruciating pain rocketed up my body.

"Malfoy! I'm so sorry," she said anxiously.

I barely heard her as I fought against the blackness that threatened to drown me. Hermione carefully set her hands on my shoulders and maneuvered me until I was lying on my back. I was breathing hard as she lifted my shirt up. My eyes followed her movement until she had my shirt rolled up to my shoulders. Instantly, I began to regret looking down to see my blackened torso. My whole right side was a deep purple with my ribs being so dark they were almost black. I could just barely see the deformation of the bone. A sharp breath left Hermione just as I shut my eyes tightly. Looking at the wound was just making me dizzy.

"Malfoy, stay with me. Look at me." Hermione set her hands on my cheeks and waited until I was looking at her to continue talking. "It's not that bad. You are going to be okay."

Her voice was calm and confident, which helped the overwhelming fear I was feeling. It wasn't until she began stroking my cheek that I realized I was breathing irregularly.

"You are okay. Just breathe," she said soothingly.

The pain was still at its all time high but I let Hermione's voice wash over me and calm my beating heart. Of course that was the moment Roy and Cliff decided to show up. Hermione looked away from me to glance up at them and I let my eyes flutter shut.

"What's this? Are we interrupting something?" I heard Cliff say.

"He's hurt. You need to fix him or he won't live long enough to make your potion," Hermione snapped.

My heart began to beat faster at her words. I was dying? I can't die yet. I needed to be sure Scorpius was safe and Hermione and her kids. I couldn't die yet.

"Take him to Daphne. She knows the spell better than I do," I heard Roy say.

Hermione's hand left my face and I moaned from the loss. Strong arms lifted me into the air and that's when the pain rendered me unconscious.

* * *

"You can't heal that with a simple spell. I'm not a healer."

"Just do what you can, Daphne. We need him to make the potion."

"Fine. But if I make it worse don't blame it on me."

I was just on the verge of reopening my eyes when the pain went from an eight to a ten. A scream was ripped from my throat as fire burned its way down my side.

"Hold him down! If I miss it will only break his other ribs."

Hands suddenly grabbed my shoulders and held me down as someone else grabbed my ankles. This is what was going to kill me. No one should be able to endure this much pain. This went on for what could have been hours but was actually only a few minutes when my side went numb. I no longer felt any pain but I no longer felt anything. I didn't know what was worse.

"All done. May I leave now, Uncle? I want to get to the salon before Mary leaves."

"Is he all fixed?"

"To the best of my ability."

"You may leave then."

Footsteps retreating from the room reached my ears before a hand smacked my face lightly. "Wake up, Draco. It is time to work."

I opened my eyes slowly and Duncan's face filled my vision. I sat up and found that I was lying on the dining table, the potion supplies pushed to the edge. My hand slid down of its own accord and lifted the hem of my shirt. My torso looked exactly the same but I no longer felt any pain. I poked at my side tentatively and felt nothing. I couldn't even feel the touch of my finger. She didn't fix anything she just numbed the pain. It was frightening to think what was going on inside my body and not being able to feel it.

"The ingredients you requested are on the table and if you need anything else just ask Roy," Duncan said pleasantly, before sitting down in an armchair and took up reading a book quietly.

I let out a shaky breath before sliding off the table carefully. Nothing happened when I stood up right and I glanced down at my side once more. I hope I wasn't making it worse by walking around.

Trying not to think of my side, I walked up the cauldron and the other supplies scattered around. I found a pot of water and dumped it in the cauldron. I needed to let it boil for a moment but the burner was not on. How did they expect me to work without a wand?

"How am I supposed to make a potion without magic?" I grumbled.

No one said anything and I looked up to see Duncan closing his book. He stood up from his chair and walked across the room to the bookshelf in the corner. He scanned a shelf until he found a skinny box and took it down into his hands. He then walked over to me and smiled.

"You are right. You are going to need a wand," he said, revealing a maple wand probably about twelve inches. Nothing like my wand. "Now when I give this to you no funny business. If you try you will be dead before you hit the floor. Roy will be sure to keep an eye on you."

I glanced up at Roy who was already pointing his wand at me, a smirk on his face. Duncan handed me the wand and I contemplated fighting my way out of here. But just as soon as that thought came it was gone. There was no way I would win in a duel in my condition. Trying would only get everyone I cared about killed. So to show I was not going to do anything I started a fire then set the wand away from me.

For about two hours I worked on sorting through the potions. When I had made the list of potion ingredients I was careful. If they became suspicious by my list my plan would never work. So I had asked for things that I wouldn't need like dragon blood and pixie wings. They didn't question the items and got everything on my list so they must not be suspicious yet. The Draught of Living Death only took a couple days to make if done correctly but I needed to stretch this out for as long as I could. Yeah, I was not making a poison to kill Potter but I still didn't care to put him in a deep sleep either.

After the fifth hour of working straight, Duncan stood up and walked over to my station. He looked into my cauldron to see the pale green liquid simmering and set his hands on my shoulders. It took everything in me to not smack the hands away. If this was going to work he was going to have to think he could trust me.

"Splendid, Draco. Just splendid. I have worked up an appetite watching you work. Why don't we all go into dining room and eat." Duncan didn't take his hands from off my shoulder as he stirred me out of the room. Cliff picked up the wand I was using from off the table and pocketed it before following after us.

I was wrong about the other room being the dining room because the room that Duncan directed me into was definitely the dining room. A huge, gold chandler was the first thing to catch my eye. It was beautiful and extravagant. It reminded me of the Manor where my parents still lived. I don't know how they could stay there; I haven't been able to step back in that place since I moved out. The room was painted a deep burgundy which went nicely with the wooden floor. The table in the room was long and had many chairs surrounding it. I counted eighteen chairs. Plates and silverware was already set on one end of the table and this is where we sat.

Duncan snapped his fingers and two house elves appeared. They looked nervously at Duncan before bowing low, their long noses grazing the floor.

"Master," they said in unison.

"We would like to eat dinner now," he said to them.

A '_pop_' and they disappeared. We didn't have to wait long before a mouthwatering pot roast appeared in the middle of the table, along with some roasted potatoes, steamed carrots, and a Yorkshire pudding. My insides began to twist as the smell of the food hit me.

"Eat up, Draco." I looked at Duncan and he nodded his head toward the food.

I didn't need telling twice and I grabbed all the food I could. The first bite of the pot roast was actually very painful. I hadn't had a real meal in two weeks and the flavors were insulting my mouth and my stomach. So I switched to the pudding and that seemed better. I took a few bites of potatoes before chugging down the water that was sitting in front of me.

It wasn't until I set my glass down that I realized the table was quietly watching me eat. I ignored them and continued eating until I felt like I am going to burst.

When I set my fork down Duncan asked, "Would you like some tea?"

I glanced up at him and decided I was done being around him for the day and shook my head, even though the thought of tea made my fingers fidget.

"You have done well your first day. Dinner will be provided for you every night if you keep it up," Duncan smiled. He then waved his hand off in dismissal.

Roy stood up and I took it as a sign for me to do so also. I followed him out of the dining room and back to the cell. I waited for him to open the bars before stepping inside. Hermione was in the corner her knees to her chest. She waited until the others were gone before rushing into my arms.

"I thought...you didn't come back...thought maybe..." I could feel her heart slamming against my chest.

I pulled her closer when I realized she was afraid that I wasn't coming back. "I'm alright. Don't worry about me."

She scoffed at me before pulling away. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel better." Which was sort of the truth. I didn't feel pain anymore, but that didn't mean I was fixed.

"They fixed you?" She reached for my shirt and before I could stop her she had lifted it. Her eyes widened and she looked like she was trying to stay calm as she took deep breaths. "They didn't heal you. They didn't do anything."

"Granger, it's not that bad. I can't feel the pain anymore," I said, trying to keep her from freaking out.

"Just because you can't feel the pain anymore does not mean it's not that bad. You could have internal bleeding or an infection that can kill you! Those thick headed idiots!" She began pacing and running her hands through her tangled curls. "They need to come back and properly heal you. They need—"

"Hey, I'm okay. Calm down." I grabbed her arm to get her to stop pacing but she yanked it out of my grip.

"Malfoy, you don't understand. I need...I can't...you can't die! I need you," she shouted.

My heart began beating faster and I forgot to breathe for a moment. She looked slightly crazed breathing hard and making her hair even more of a mess because she was running her hands through it roughly but she never looked more beautiful to me. I wanted to take her face and bring her lips to mine but then I remembered why I couldn't. Ron. She was married to Ron. I couldn't do anything. The only reason she needed me was because otherwise the quiet would make her go crazy. It took everything in me to take a step away from her. I couldn't look at her because it hurt that she would never be mine. It hurt even more when I realized I didn't deserve her anyways.

"Malfoy?" Her tone was full of worry as she took a tentative step toward me.

I nodded my head, still not looking at her. "I'm fine, Granger. I am not going to die. I promise."

"You can't know that. You never know what's going to happen," she argued.

I finally looked up and locked eyes with her. "I promise I won't leave you here alone."

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly. Instead she nodded her head accepting I won't leave her here to the quiet insanity.

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for your kind reviews! I enjoy reading them! Hope you like this chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

We slept in separate corners that night. It was freezing but I stayed where I was and wrapped my arms around myself. I was getting too close to Hermione. My feelings for her were messing with my head. It was better that I kept my distance from her. When we got out of here she will not look back as she goes home to her husband and his huge family of redheads. She will not think twice about me as she snuggles up in his chest at night. Her life will go on without me, while mine will be left in pieces. My wife, the woman I thought I loved, will no longer be in my bed with me. While I will cut her out of my life without hesitation, I still dread the moment when I will have to sleep in my bed alone. I dread the moment when I will have to sleep without Hermione being less than a couple of feet from me.

All these worries and anxieties made it difficult for me to fall asleep and then stay asleep. I woke up the next morning feeling exhausted but I was done trying to stay asleep longer than thirty minutes so I sat up and attempted to get my mind off of Hermione. I thought of Scorpius to keep my mind from slipping into dangerous territory. I thought of when he was born and how he was this small red blob and thinking he was the most beautiful baby in the world. I thought of when he took his first wobbly steps toward me. He kept falling right on his bum but instead of crying he would laugh hysterically. Like falling done was the funniest thing in the world. I thought of the first time he said daddy. The joy that he said daddy before mommy still leaves me giddy on the inside.

I thought of Scorpius' childhood until the sun began to rise. Hermione stirred before opened her eyes groggily. I looked down and noticed she was unconsciously holding onto her stomach.

"Morning," she said, still lying on the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, motioning to her stomach.

She looked down and realized she was holding her stomach as if in pain. I watched as she rubbed her hand up and down a couple of times before removing it altogether.

"Just hungry," she admitted.

I nodded understandingly, even though I knew I was not in the same boat as her. While I was feasting the night before she was probably only served a couple slices of bread. I knew they only began adding slices of cheese for my sake so I doubt they gave her any last night.

"Did you sleep at all, Malfoy?" Hermione suddenly asked and I jumped.

"What?"

"You look like you didn't sleep at all," she commented.

I shrugged her off and looked down at my shoes. I really didn't want to get into why I couldn't sleep. She would probably say something ridiculous like blaming it on herself and I was not going to let that happen. This wasn't anyone's fault but myself. I shouldn't have feelings for Hermione. This never would have happened twenty years ago. But the again I was a little prat twenty years ago. Still, I shouldn't have let this happen.

"Malfoy?"

I looked over at her and she was staring at me. "What?"

"What's Scorpius' favorite class at Hogwarts?"

I gave her a confused look before replying, "I'm okay. You don't need to do that."

"No I really want to know. I know you are okay. I'm just curious," she chuckled.

I considered her a moment before saying, "I don't really know actually. He is always telling me how much he loves every subject. He is a true Ravenclaw because I think his favorite subject is to learn."

"That's great! You must be so proud of him."

A smile wormed its way out of me and I said, "Yeah. I really am. I'm glad he didn't turn out like me. Or Astoria, come to think about it."

"Hey, you weren't so b—"

I raised my eyebrow up at her and she gave me a shy smile. "Well I guess you could have been a bit nicer."

I laughed with her until we heard the sound of the steel door being opened. I sighed and began to stand. It was time to leave her again. She gave me a sympathetic smile before curling closer to the corner of the cell.

Cliff opened the bars and motioned for me to come. I followed him back to the room where all my potion materials were still strewn all across the table. The only thing different was that Duncan was not in the room like he usually was. I began working and kept my mind on Scorpius to keep my focus.

* * *

Hours had past when Roy said I may stop. I waited for him to take me back to my cell but he directed me into the dining room again where a luscious meal was waiting for us. I was surprised that they were feeding me dinner since they gave me lunch. A couple hours into my work Cliff had handed me a sandwich that contained more than just bread and cheese. I figured that would have been my meal for the day but Roy was telling me to sit.

Tonight the main course was duck, with roasted asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes. There was also a bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the table. I started with the garlic mashed potatoes, afraid that the duck would upset my stomach. But after a couple of bites the smell of the duck overwhelmed my senses and I dug in. The taste of the duck was better than the smell. I ate like it was my last meal, and who knows, maybe it was.

As I began to feel full my mind wandered to Hermione who was still starving back in the cell. I eyed the bowl of fruit again before glancing at Roy and Cliff. Roy was still eating and as I watched Cliff began to stretch his arms out and let an obnoxious yawn leave his lips. I chose that moment to snatch an apple from the bowl. Casually I brought it down to my lap and slipped it into my pocket. I waited another minute before stuffing a roll into my other pocket.

"All right, let's take him back to his cell. I want to take a nap." Cliff stood up from his chair and I followed suit.

"You take him back. I'm not done yet," Roy waved him off.

Cliff looked as if he was going to protest but decided against it and motioned for me to follow him. We walked out of the dining room and back to the cell silently. He opened the bars for me and I went in without complaint. Hermione was sitting in the corner a water bottle in her hand and one piece of bread sitting beside her. She saved me one of her breads. She could have eaten it and I wouldn't have known the difference but she saved the bread even though she was starving. I forget that there were some people in the world who actually gave a damn about other people. Hermione was really opening my eyes to what a terrible life I grew up in. Nobody I knew growing up would have saved the bread for me, not even my own father.

I sat down on the opposite wall of Hermione as Cliff left. I waited a couple of minutes before pointing toward the bread sitting next to her.

"Why didn't you eat the bread?' I asked.

She picked it up and tried handing it to me. I shook my head at her and pushed it back to her.

"You have to eat too, Malfoy. I could never be as selfish as to eat your only source of food."

"I never would have known that you ate it though."

"I would have known."

I stared at her not believing she was real. "Eat it, Granger."

"Malfoy, no—"

"They have been feeding me. Now that I am cooperating with them they have been letting me eat dinner with them. They even fed me lunch today," I cut her off.

She looked taken back by my words and her hand holding the bread dropped. "Oh."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have brought you a plate."

"No. It's okay. It's not your fault," she smiled weakly.

"I did sneak this away though," I took out the roll first then the apple. When I brought the apple out her eyes widened and a whimper fell from her lips.

She took the apple into her hands and gave me a grave look. "You shouldn't have done this. What if you got caught?"

"I don't care what they do to me anymore. I knew you were hungry so I got your food."

"Thank you, Malfoy," she said before eating the apple greedily.

She ate the apple quickly before putting the whole roll in her mouth. It wasn't much but I knew she must feel a lot better than before. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve before taking a drink of water.

"You look tired. Did they do anything to you?" She asked resting her head against the wall.

"No. I'm fine," I replied.

She didn't say anything for a while so I looked over at her and she was watching me. "What?"

She shook her head and lay down. "You should get some sleep."

I mimicked her actions and lay down against my wall. We both didn't shut our eyes though. It was dark in the cell but I knew her eyes were still on me.

"I thought we were going to sleep," I said in the dark.

"We are."

"Then why are your eyes still open?"

"Why are yours?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. She had me there. "Got me."

I could barely make out her shoulder shaking with silent laughter. We laid in comfortable silence for a moment before Hermione asked, "What happened to you? After the war?"

I didn't answer her right away, unsure how to answer. "What do you mean?"

"I just remember you and your parents went on trial, you guys were pardoned, and then you disappeared for a couple years."

"My parents went back to the manor but I couldn't be there anymore. After all that happened I began to question everything in my life. For the first time in my life I actually felt guilty. So I packed a bag and went to Germany."

"Why Germany?"

"I don't really know. I've always liked the cold and heard that a winter in Germany is like no other. When I got there I didn't have anywhere to stay but I knew where the wizarding community resided so I trekked my way toward there. It took me over a week and when I got there I was too exhausted to do anything but sleep in the park. A little old man found me and made me go back home with him.

_"Boy, you want to freeze to death? Come along now."_

_I looked up groggily to find a man with a handlebar grey mustache staring down at me. He was wearing raggedy forest green wizardry robes and a gold chain with a key was around his neck. _

_"What?" I wasn't fully awake yet and didn't comprehend his words. _

_The old man threw his hands in the air and began speaking fast German. I stood as he finished his rant and picked up my bag. As the sleepiness began to fade, I realized just how tiny this old man was. I was at least a foot taller than him. He had to tilt his head up so his beady black eyes could look me in the eye. _

_"It's almost supper time. Come," he croaked. _

_The thought of food made me follow him without question. Normally, a man dressed in clothes like him would have made me scoff and walk in the opposite direction but now that I was on my own with no money I didn't really have a choice. I followed him to a small little cottage on the edge of town. He unlocked the door and walked inside. _

_"Get in. Get in. You are letting the warm out," the little old man grunted._

_I did as I was told still feeling the exhaustion from walking a full day in a half without sleep or food. Last source of food I had was the half of sandwich in the garbage. I was not used to not eating when I was hungry. Normally I would snap my fingers and a house elf would bring me a plate of food. Even while Voldermort was using the manor as a temporary home, I never went hungry. It was a new and strange sensation to me being hungry and I knew that I disliked it greatly. But I was not longer at home. I could not snap my fingers and food would appear in front of me. _

_Looking around the small cottage I wondered how this man survived. I was unsure where the living room ended and the kitchen began. There was a cauldron sitting in the fire place and I couldn't help but think what a strange place for it to be. I walked deeper into the living room and into the kitchen hoping I could find some food to eat. I walked up to the cupboard and opened it to reveal nothing to me but spices, an onion, and three carrots. I shut it and opened the next one and nothing but filthy looking dishes. _

_"You don't have any biscuits or anything?" I asked weakly. _

_The little old man let out a roar of laughter before taking a knapsack from around his neck and setting it on the ground. He left it there in the middle of the floor and my eye twitched. This man is a slob. _

_"Why don't you have anything to eat?"_

_The little old man raised a bushy eyebrow up at me before walking out the door. I was confused. Should I follow him? I sighed and sat down in one of the old chairs. It creaked underneath me and I cringed. If this chair broke underneath me...I would have to accept it. Since I have left home not a single person has helped me; they haven't even looked my way as they passed me on the streets. This little old man is the only person who has helped me even if it was only put a roof over my head. I guess I didn't have the option to be picky. _

_Just as I came to the realization that I would stay for as long as the little old man allowed, he returned with a pail of water. I watched as he ignored me and walked over to the fireplace and poured the water into the cauldron. He then picked up the knapsack on the ground and poured the contents inside also. _

_"Get the vegetables in the cupboard," he grunted._

_I did as I was told and got the one onion and carrots from the cupboard and handed them to him. He didn't hesitate to throw it in the cauldron. We stood in silence for about thirty minutes as he stirred the cauldron. When he seemed satisfied he spooned some of what I can now tell is soup into a bowl and hands it to me. _

_"There are spoons in the drawer," he said. _

_I understood that he was telling me to get the spoons so I balanced the bowl in one hand and grabbed the utensils with the other hand. They looked slightly grimy and normally I would have refused to eat with something that was obviously unclean but my stomach grumbled and I chose to ignore it. I handed one of the spoons to the little old man and he took it without saying anything. When I took the first mouthful I immediately spit it out._

_The little old man waved his spoon in the air and began yelling in German. I looked down and wondered what the hell I was eating. _

_"What did you put in this?" I asked. _

_"If you don't like it, don't eat it. Plain an' simple," he grunted. _

_"What is this?" I spooned up what looked like meat but smelled like no meat I have never eaten. _

_"It's tripe. Now go get that rag on the chair and clean up this mess," he responded. _

_I set the bowl of soup on the end table and began cleaning up the splatter of soup I spit out on the floor. I was dabbing the ground like a common house elf, when I looked up at him, confusion all over my face. "Tripe?"_

_He was about to put a spoonful of soup into his mouth when he looked down at me and said, "Goat intestines." _

_Acid and bile shot up to the back of my throat but I refrained from throwing up. Did I really eat the intestine from a goat? Did people really eat that? I couldn't imagine eating another bite and sat against the front of the armchair and stared at the bowl of soup in front of me. _

_"That's all there is to eat. So if you don't want it, more for me." He must have seen the skeptical look on my face. When I looked up at him he didn't seem mad, he seemed like he could care less if I ate or not. Back before everything changed, if I didn't like the meal in front of me I wouldn't eat. Eventually, my mother would snap her fingers and order a house elf to make me something else that I would eat. I had a feeling that would not work on this little old man though. He had no reason to care if I ate or not. Like he said, if I didn't eat, more for him. I was beginning to learn right away that being stubborn was not going to work on this man, nor being superior. So I picked up the spoon and took another bite. It went down a little easier but it still made my stomach turn over slightly. With each bite it got better, the feeling to throw up getting less and less. _

_When we finished eating, he gave me a pillow and blanket and told me I could sleep on the couch. For the first time in my life I felt grateful and showed it by saying, "Thank you."_

_He raised an eyebrow up at me."What's your name kid?"_

_"Draco Malfoy."_

_"Well, Draco Malfoy, if you are going to stay in this house things are not going to come to you free," he said._

_"I don't have anything to give you," I frowned. _

_"That's why you are going to work for your food and for that pillow and blanket every day. If I feel that you did not try your best then you will have everything taken away from you."_

_I felt myself grow angry at his words. "What if I don't want to live by your rules?"_

_"Then you can get the hell out. I am not asking much of you and I need someone to help in town. So you can take it or leave it."_

_I nodded to show that I understood and he began to walk toward the only room before I called him back. "Wait, I don't know your name."_

_He turned around and gave me a phantom smile. "Hyperion Bachmeier."_

"Hyperion Bachmeier?" Hermione sat up suddenly.

"You know him?" I asked.

"His name sounds familiar," she replied, crossing her legs underneath her. "What work did he make you do?

I sat up also and said, "He had a little shop just inside town and I used to help open, close and with stocking. Mainly, I used magic all day while he dealt with customers."

"Magic? He trusted you to use magic in his shop?"

"Well he never used it so I guess it was my job to do it."

"Wait, Hyperion Bachmeier? The famous muggleborn who was kicked out of Durmstrang for lying about his bloodline?"

"He was famous for that?" I was surprised she knew about him. I didn't even know until I confronted him one day about never using magic. He had simply waved me off and told me that he didn't like to. It wasn't until a few days later that I learned of his history from a regular customer in town. From what I learned from her was that Hyperion had lied and said that he was a pureblood to get into Durmstrang. It was far away from home and Hyperion liked the idea of not being under his father's control any longer, so he chose Durmstrang as the school he wanted to attend. He found out from a friend, who was a half-blood witch that lived in his neighborhood, that he would not able to attend Durmstrang because of his blood status. So he lied and said he was pureblood. He made it to his fifth year before being found out and kicked out of school. He was able to hide his wand from the professors and kept it with him until he turned seventeen and the trace was lifted off of him, but from what I saw he rarely used his wand. Instead he would tell me to use magic. It was strange to think that this little old man, who owned a small shop that bought and sold used items, was known around the world.

"I read about him in a journal article about blood equality. He was the first and only muggleborn to step foot in Durmstrang before Headmaster Sterling. His story is amazing. I didn't even know he was still alive," Hermione said in awe.

"He isn't anymore," I said quietly.

"Oh, I am sorry. What happened?"

Her voice was softer and I began craving her touch. So I scooted closer to her, not denying my desire to touch her any longer. I reached for her hand and she let me set mine on top of hers.

"I had been living with him for about two years when he got sick. Nobody knew what was wrong with him. Three days later he was dead. I returned to England a week later."

Hermione flipped her hand upside down and curled her fingers into mine. "I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was so much more than that. He really changed me for the better. I only used magic at the shop when I absolutely needed to. At home magic was never used. I lived like a muggle for two years. It made me see things in a new perspective. I had a new appreciation for muggles and even muggleborns. Hyperion didn't let me get away with things that I always thought was okay. Whenever I talked back to him he would whack me in the back of the head. Whenever I was acting like a complete prat he would whack me in the back of the head. Whenever I acted better than him or anyone for that matter he would whack me in the back of the head. He never punished me unless I absolutely deserved it.

In those two years I learned how shitty of a person I was growing up and regretted all the things I did in my past. He made me think before I spoke and made me realize there was a lot more to life than power and money. I found out after Hyperion had passed away that he had a lot of money stashed away in his bank vault. He chose to live in the small cottage and work at his shop seven days a week. Even after he died Hyperion was teaching me a lesson."

"Malfoy, I don't know what to say," she squeezed my hand before continuing. "I always thought you were going to be a pureblood supremacist until you died, but you really have changed. I knew the first day I was thrown into this cell. You could have been a jerk while I was freaking out, but you were a gentleman. You helped calm me down and didn't rub it in my face. If Hyperion was still alive I would have liked to meet him. He made you into the wonderful man you are today."

My breath hitched and I looked over at her. Her smile was radiant and beautiful. I wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her fully on the lips. In the dark I almost imagined her leaning in when a flash of red hair flickered across my mind. Ron was her husband. Not me. I couldn't kiss her. She would never cheat on her husband, even under the circumstances. And I don't think I would want to put her through that, no matter how much I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let her go. I knew I should probably take my hand away now but I let myself be a little selfish.

We talked for a little while after that before lying down again. This time we did fall asleep, my hand still wrapped tightly around hers.


	13. Chapter 13

"What the bloody hell is this?"

I jumped at the sounds of Roy's voice and jerked my hand out of Hermione's. She stood up quickly and I did the same noticing what made Roy growl out. The apple core was sitting in the middle of the floor for both of them to see. I had meant to put the thing in my pocket before they came but we must have slept in. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck and my heart began to beat steadily faster. Next to me I heard Hermione intake a sharp breath. Before I could let the panic seep in I stepped forward quickly and blurted, "It's my apple. I ate it."

Roy's eyes burned straight into me as he flicked his wand. My body shot at the wall hard, slamming my head in the process, and felt the familiar invisible restraint once again locking me in place. Hermione's eyes snapped to mine quickly before looking down at her feet anxiously. Cliff walked forward and I pulled against my restraint trying to break free but it wouldn't give. Instead I had to watch as Cliff grabbed Hermione by her hair and pushed her down to her knees. She let out a noise that sounded as if she was trying to hold it in but it escaped her lips before she could. Her head shot down and her hair curtained her face, but not before I saw the terrified look on her face.

"You know, don't think I haven't noticed this thing you two share. And I don't mean a cell," Roy said, a gleam in his eye. Cliff snickered.

Roy walked into the cell and his eyes narrowed at me. "How anyone could stand the stench of the mudblood is beside me. But you," he made a point to shake his finger in my direction. "You have been awfully close to her these past couple of weeks."

"I feel nothing for her," I panted, still fighting my restraint. In the corner of my eye I saw Hermione's shoulders tense. I hoped that she knew what I was saying wasn't true and that I was only said it so they wouldn't harm her. They mustn't know how I truly feel about her, but I could see in Roy's eyes that he did not believe me.

"You brought her an apple. This is a slap to Master Duncan's face!" Roy roared before slapping Hermione clean across the face. She let out a breath of air and shut her eyes. I tried not to flinch.

I willed my voice to stay strong as I said, "It was my apple."

"Yes, it was. That you gave to her!" Roy glared.

"I didn't! I ate it in front of her. I would never share my food with her."

Roy charged me and grabbed my face with his hand. "Do not lie to me!" He yelled before swiftly turning around and swishing his wand at Hermione. "Crucio!"

Hermione's whole body began to tremble before a scream was ripped from her throat. Cliff threw her on the ground as she began to thrash around uncontrollable. It was one thing being stuck in the cell and hearing Hermione scream in the other room. It was entirely different to see her up close and having the image of her screeching and convulsing on the ground. Watching her as she suffered pain that no one should be able to endure was killing me on the inside.

I finally broke and couldn't watch Hermione being tortured a second longer. "Stop!"

Roy turned back toward me, stopping the curse in the process. Hermione wheezed on the ground and rolled slowly onto her stomach, covering her face in the process. I couldn't see her eyes and that was making me begin to swell up with fear. I needed to look into her eyes to know she was okay. _Just lift up your head, Hermione. _But she couldn't hear my inner turmoil and the panicky feeling only got worse.

"Do you have something to say, Malfoy? Like how you are in love with the mudblood?" Roy taunted.

I looked away from him not taking the bait. If I told him I was in love with her, Hermione's punishment would surely be much worse. Don't think about him. She will be okay. She has to be.

"I think she wants more, Roy," Cliff laughed maliciously.

I glanced down and saw Hermione struggling to crawl away from everyone. She didn't get far before Cliff walked over and stepped hard onto her arm. Hermione was screaming again and I felt my heart split into two. Her screaming only made Cliff stomp down harder until a '_crack'_ rattled the room.

"Stop! Leave her! It was my apple!" I shouted, pushing as hard as I could against my restraint, trying with all my might to break it.

Roy and Cliff both looked back at me as I battled with the barrier against me and began to laugh.

"Just say it out loud. Say you love the mudblood and we will stop. We will leave together and you may continue working on your potion. Just say it for me," Roy smirked.

I was heaving for air as they waited for me to say something. Hermione was crying quietly as she held tightly to her arm. She was curled into a ball and shaking but I knew I couldn't give Roy what he wanted. I didn't trust that he would actually keep his word. He was only playing with me. This was a game to him. I couldn't let him win. So I kept my mouth shut. Roy's lip twitched before he nodded his head at Cliff, who lit up like Roy just gave him Christmas early. He lifted his wand and set the Cruciatus curse on Hermione. Her screams once again bounced off the walls of the cell and I tried in vain to keep a straight face. But it was difficult with Hermione writhing on the floor in front of me.

Cliff's torture went on longer than Roy's and I swore I could see her skin rippling. Panic dropped down to my stomach and I shouted, "Stop! You'll kill her!"

Roy lifted his hand and Cliff stopped the curse. Hermione was breathing heavily as spasms shot through her body and I didn't know how much more she could take before they did kill her. I needed to do something. Anything. "You can't kill her."

"Why not? She has proven herself useless so far. Why should we keep her around?" Cliff asked.

Because I love her! "Because you might need to use her to bait Potter."

Roy lifted his wand this time to torture Hermione. I only lasted fifteen seconds before I was begging for him to stop. "Stop! Please, stop!" Roy didn't stop this time and Hermione abruptly ceased screaming. Oh God. They killed her! "I love her, okay! Please, just stop!"

I could feel tears threatening to fall but I held them in, not wanting to give them the satisfaction. Roy laughed at me but he pulled his wand back. I glanced at Hermione and she wasn't moving. Cliff kicked at her but she didn't wake. "She can never stay awake long enough to get to the good stuff. Lightweight this one is."

"Let's go. It's time we leave the mudblood," Roy said, flicking his wand at me.

I fell hard to my hands and knees. The only thing on my mind was Hermione, as I tried to crawl toward her. Roy blocked me however, and lifted me up to my feet with his hand on my throat. "That will teach you to not to take Duncan's hospitality for granted ever again."

There was nothing I wanted to do more than put my fist in his face but I held back and instead dropped my head in defeat. There was nothing I could do. If I tried anything they would kill Hermione. If she wasn't already dead. I swallowed harshly and looked down at Hermione once more. She still hadn't moved and I couldn't tell if she was breathing. Before I could attempt to get closer to her and see if she was alive, Cliff grabbed my upper arm and directed me out of the cell. We walked through the steel doors and toward the staircase.

As we got closer, I could hear a small child crying. Hugo. Poor Hugo. He must have been able to hear his mother's screams. I began to feel a lot of empathy for the small child and hoped he had his sister at least to comfort him.

We got to the foot of the stairs when I heard him. My son. He was saying comforting words to the little boy and his calm voice took my breath away. I haven't seen or heard my son in over two weeks. Just knowing that he was okay was enough to fill the cracks in my heart. Despite that he was being held prisoner and had every right to be closed off from the world, he was still thinking over others before himself. I wanted to cry in relief but again I held back my tears and walked up the stairs.

It was hard to focus on the potion with everything that happened. I barely knew what I was doing and barely caught myself when I almost dumped in the wrong ingredient. It only got worse when Duncan arrived and announced it was time for dinner.

"That may not be the best idea. Malfoy stole food to feed the mudblood last night."

Duncan swiveled around and narrowed his eyes at Roy. "What?"

"Malfoy is stealing food to feed the mudblood. We found an eaten apple in their cell today," Roy said.

"Well it seems that they both have had their fill of food. Send him back. No bread and no water."

"Yes sir," Roy smirked and grabbed my upper arm.

We walked back to my cell silently. I couldn't hear any sounds from where they were keeping the kids this time. My heart clenched and I wished one of them would make a sound. But when did any of my wishes come true? Cliff opened the bars and the first thing I saw was Hermione still on the ground. I didn't care what Roy or Cliff thought, I rushed to her side and fell hard on my knees. The sound of the bars shutting made me look back. Roy still had that sickening smile on his face and it made me hate him even more. He turned to leave and I turned my focus back onto Hermione.

"Hermione?" I shook her body lightly, then a little more roughly when she didn't respond. "Hermione! Please, be okay."

It took a couple more rough shakes before her eyes flickered open. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and a relieved smile fell onto my face. "You're alive."

"I'm alive," she whispered.

I picked her up as carefully as I could and walked over to the corner of the cell. I leaned my back against the wall before sliding down the cold cement. Hermione was positioned in my lap once more and I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I should have never given you that apple," I said to her quietly.

"It's okay. You didn't know," she reassured me.

"It's not okay. You were tortured because of me," I swallowed the guilt down, letting it fall into the pit of regret right in my heart.

"Malfoy, don't do this to yourself." She attempted to move so she could look me in the face but suddenly her eyes squeezed shut in pain. Her breaths were coming out unevenly and she looked like she was holding back tears.

"Quit moving. You are jostling your arm," I told her, pulling her back into my chest. She didn't resist me and lay her head on my chest. When her breathing returned to normal, I asked, "Is it broken?"

"I think so. I heard the bone crack when he stepped on it," she murmured.

Another pang in my chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Stop. This is not your fault," she grabbed a handful of my shirt and squeezed it between her fingers. "Say it's not your fault."

"But it is," I said stubbornly.

A sharp pinch was felt on my side and I let out a yelp, "Granger!"

"Say it," she replied, her fingers lingering over the spot she just pinched.

I sighed, letting her win, but not truly believing my words, "It's not my fault."

"Good. Now tell me about when Scorpius was born."

**Author's Note: **Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far! Your reviews encourage me to continue writing this fanfiction. Review to let me know how this chapter was!


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione woke up many times thoughtful the night and since she was lying in my arms, her fidgeting would wake me. She wouldn't say it out loud but I knew it was because her arm was bothering her. But she would push my hands away when I attempted to pull her arm sleeve up so I could look at her arm. Her excuse was that she was cold and would self-consciously pull her sleeve down past her fingers. By the time the sun started to rise I estimated that I only got about three hours of sleep. Hermione probably even less.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her, helping her sit up against the wall.

"I'm fine," she grimaced.

"No you're not," I frowned.

"Just drop it okay? There is nothing we can do."

I sighed and rested my head against the wall. Hermione surprised me when she scooted closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder. I looked down at her and she was staring at the bars. She looked exhausted but like something was on her mind.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, holding myself back from hiding my face in her bushy hair.

"Nothing in particular."

"That is so incredibly vague," I rolled my eyes.

She chuckled and glanced up at me. "Strawberries."

"Huh?" I lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm thinking about how much I miss strawberries," she smiled lightly.

Understanding filled my senses and I let out a chuckle. "Biscuits."

"Morning tea."

"Flying on a broomstick."

"Sunset."

"Sunrise."

We both let out a laugh at that and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt good to be able to smile in such a dark place. Hermione was able to do that for me. I looked down at her and her eyes were closed, but a smile was on her lips. We sat in a comfortable silence until we heard the steel door being opened. Hermione's eyes slipped open and she lifted her head off my shoulder. I squeezed her leg before standing up. Cliff opened the bars and motioned for me to come.

"Let's go, Loverboy," he said.

My hand twitched and I had to relax my fingers before I made a fist and did something I regret. I followed after the two of them and they didn't say one word. I was surprised Roy wasn't rubbing it in my face. It was strange. It wasn't like him.

We made it to the room and I began working. The potion has been a bluish color for the past couple of days and I knew if I didn't add in the last ingredient soon I would lose the true effect of the potion. I waited a couple of hours before adding it and the potion immediately turned a soft lilac. I stared at it for a while as it simmered. This was the longest I ever spent making the Draught of the Living Dead. Normally it took less than a day but somehow I was able to stretch this out for so many days. I should feel a little pride in my potion abilities but I couldn't help but think why has no one found us yet. It's been what? A couple of weeks since we have been here? I may not have many people who would care if I disappeared but I knew for a fact that Hermione did. Why hasn't anyone found us yet? I don't think I will be able to keep dragging this potion out for very long. Even though I knew this potion wouldn't kill anyone, if the right person does not diagnose the person who drinks it they will be put in a deep sleep for the rest of their life. If someone doesn't find us soon I don't know what I am going to do.

"Alright. That's enough for the day. Back to two pieces of bread and one water bottle," Duncan said, not bothering to get up from his chair.

I stepped away from my cauldron and began walking back to my cell when Roy gripped my arm and turned me sharply around to face Duncan. "Say thank you."

I raised an eyebrow at him and that resulted in him punching me in the face. A sharp pain shot through my nose and I felt a trickle of blood stream down my face. When I looked back up Roy was smirking at me. "Say thank you to Master Duncan."

I should have known I couldn't go through a day without Roy playing some sick game with me. Knowing Roy would just continue to torture me if I didn't give him what he wanted, I turned toward Duncan and mumbled a thank you.

Duncan gave me a blinding smile and replied, "I appreciate your good manners. Now leave."

Roy gripped my arm roughly and spun me away. I covered my nose with my hand to try and stop the bleeding but it just kept coming. By the time we got to the cell my hand was covered in blood. Cliff opened the bars and Roy threw me inside along with the two pieces of bread and a water bottle. Hermione was still curled in the corner. It looked like she hadn't moved since I left this morning. Her head popped up when I sat down next to her. Almost instantly a worried expression fell onto her face. She lifted her hand to push mine away from my nose.

"Tip your head back," she said gently.

I did as she said and rested my head against the wall, tilting my head up in the process. Hermione didn't even look surprised that I was bleeding again. I guess we both have finally become accustomed to one of us getting hurt and the other person taking care of them. With her sleeve she began wiping the blood from my nose, cheek, chin, and then my mouth. As she swiped ever so slowly against my mouth I looked down at her. Her eyes were the color of freshly brewed coffee and they were entirely focused on my mouth. She looked up after a moment and caught me staring at her but I couldn't look away. The desire to kiss her began to overwhelm me and when I began to lean in she didn't pull away. My face was inches away from her when she inhaled sharply. It snapped me out of whatever daze I was in and I pulled away.

"Sorry. I wa...how is your arm?" I stumbled with my words and I couldn't help but feel even more humiliated.

"It's sore, but I think I am getting used to the pain now," she replied.

I couldn't tell what she was thinking; I couldn't even look at her. I am such an idiot. How could I think Hermione would want to kiss me? She is probably feeling super uncomfortable. She probably wished she was sitting in this cell with anyone else but me. I just ruined the tentative relationship we had by trying to pull something so stupid. She is married! Married! Why would I do something so stupid? It wasn't like I could go hide my face somewhere. How could I—

I jumped when Hermione set her head on my shoulder. I looked down at her as she ate her piece of bread. She didn't look uncomfortable or anything like I thought she would. She looked content, or as content as she ever would in this place. When she handed me my piece of bread I took it and thanked her. We ate silently and the tension in my shoulders began to fade.

We talked like nothing happened for a bit. She kept her head on my shoulder the entire time we talked and ended up falling asleep. I sat there as she slept soundly next to me. She has yet to wake up, which was a lot for her, since she never sleeps through the night. Hermione was like a puzzle that I just couldn't figure out. When I thought she would run she skips. I didn't know what to think. But I was grateful that she was treating me with more respect than I have ever even thought about giving her growing up. She deserved so much more than me, but I would do my best to make her as happy as I could while we were stuck in this place. If it was the last thing I did, she was going to get out of here alive.

I don't know how much time had passed, or even when I fell asleep, when Hermione was suddenly shaking me awake.

"Malfoy, wake up. I think someone is coming," she whispered urgently.

It was pitch black in the cell, so it had to be close to midnight. I sat up straighter and as I did, I heard what Hermione was referring to. The steel door was creaking slowly open. From where we sat there was no way we could see who it was, but a cold sweat broke out over my neck. What were they doing coming so late at night? It was too early to come pick me up to work on the potion. That could only mean one thing. There is only one reason they would come in the middle of the night. They were going to kill one of us. Since they needed me that meant they were coming for Hermione. My arms instinctively flew around her waist and I pulled her closer to me. Her hand flew to my leg and the grip she had on it was bruising, like she knew what was coming. We shrank into the corner, nowhere to hide, but unwilling to give up so easily.

A strip of light slithered onto the floor, coming closer. My heart was beating frantically in my chest and I could hear Hermione breathing heavily. The closer the source of the light came the tighter my arms grew around her. I can't lose her. I can't. The light was directed into the cell and I held my breath. The soft glow was on the edge of the cell then moved to the far corner before slowly making its way toward us. We hid our eyes as the light was suddenly directed into our face.

"Hermione?"

Almost instantly, Hermione shot to her feet. "Ron?"

"Hermione!" She ran to the bars and I got to watch the reunion of the century.

They did an awkward hug through the bars and I could tell by the way her shoulders began to shake that she was crying. I remained seated, letting them reunite. I was happy to see that we were finally going to be rescued but I couldn't help but feel miserable at the same time.

"I found you. I can't believe I found you," Ron was saying.

"Oh Ron. I knew you would. I knew you wouldn't give up," she cried.

"Okay, stand back. I'm going to—" Ron never finished his sentence as a green light flew at him and he collapsed to the ground.

"NO!" Hermione's scream was like nothing I have ever heard before. It was like the last of her hope was being slashed from out of her body. She began clawing at Ron's motionless body as Roy, Cliff and two others rushed in.

"How did he get in?"

"Are there more of them?

"Cliff, George. Make sure there are no others. Kill anyone on sight," Roy ordered. The whole time he spoke Hermione was screaming. He turned toward me, a fire in his eyes I haven't seen since I fought against him. "Shut her up or I will do it myself."

The whole time I sat frozen, but at his words I got to my feet and ran to Hermione. She was beside herself, yelling hysterically for Ron to wake up. I grabbed hold of her and tried pulling her away, but she resisted me like her life depended on it.

"Granger," I tried again but it was like trying to move a brick wall. "Shh Granger."

"No! No, Ron!" She was sobbing and my heart broke for her.

"Hermione please," I said shakily.

"No. No. No," she was trembling and her eyes looked crazed.

There was no way I was going to get her to stop screaming so I pulled her face into my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around her. Her yells were muffled but not as loud. Roy narrowed his eyes at me but I ignored him, trying in vain to console the distraught woman in my arms. When they began moving his body out the room Hermione lost it and tried moving back to the bars but I held onto her not wanting to give Roy a reason to come inside the cell.

"Hermione. It's okay. You are okay," I whispered into her ear hoping she would calm down. "Don't think about him. Think about strawberries."

She was still screaming but it was enough that she stopped struggling to get out of my arms. I pulled her away from the bars and as far away from Roy as I could. When she crumbled to the ground I went down with her. I ran my hands soothingly in her hair and hugged her fiercely against my body. Her hands were clutching my shirt painfully and she was shaking her head back and forward frantically like she still couldn't believe that he was dead. Hermione was still screaming as Roy and the other man had left with Ron's body. I didn't want to give a Roy a reason to come back so I knew I needed to get her to stop screaming.

"What are the ingredients to a Euphoria Exlir?" I asked suddenly remembering the trick I used to use.

She didn't react at all so I figured she didn't hear me. So I asked her again. "Hermione, what are the ingredients to a Euphoria Exlir?"

The screaming didn't magically cease nor did she seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. I pulled her face up from my chest so she could look me in the eye. Her eyes took my breath away. I could almost see the light leaving her eyes, leaving me to look into deep pools of nothingness.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. Please come back to me. Please," I felt my chest clench and could feel the warm trail of tears fall down my own cheeks. "I'm sorry."

The high pitched screams finally stopped but she was still sobbing despairingly. I knew there was nothing else I could do but be there for her so I spent the rest of the night whispering soothing words into her ear.

We both got no sleep that night. Hermione finally cried herself dry by morning. Her head was in my lap as I sat against the wall. My eyes were starting to droop but I didn't want to leave Hermione like this as I slept. So I ran my fingers through her hair telling her stories from children books that I used to tell to Scorpius when he was little. I did that for a couple of hours before I couldn't hold off sleep any longer and I fell asleep in the middle of telling my story.

When I woke Hermione wasn't in my lap anymore and I sat up quickly. I let out a shaky breath when I saw that she was in the other corner. She had her arms wrapped around her legs tightly and she was rocking on the balls of her feet. I crawled over to her and pulled her head onto my shoulder. She wasn't crying anymore but I knew she was no better than she was earlier this morning.

No one came for us that day. Not even to bring us food. It was abnormal. I began to wonder if something happened. Maybe Ron was not the only one who came last night. Maybe the others have yet to find us. But as day turned to night and still no one came, I began to lose hope of being found.

I was able to sleep for a handful of hours that night but I don't think Hermione slept a minute. As the next day came I began to grow worried about her. I tried telling her to take a nap but she wouldn't respond to a thing I said.

No one came for us again that day and I was starting to feel anxious. I was watching Hermione deteriorate before my eyes at each passing day. Her face was chalk white, eyes sunken in like a skeleton, and unresponsive. It was frightening me to see her like this. At this rate she wasn't going to last the next few days.

"Hermione, you said you wouldn't give up. You promised me," I said desolately that night.

She didn't say anything or bother to curl out of the tight ball she was in. I found her in this position over two hours ago after I had woken from a short nap.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I need you so badly right now. You would know what to do. You always do." I crawled closer to her and tentatively set my hand on her cheek. She flinched at my touch and I pulled my hand back. "Please, Hermione. Come back to me."

She began to cry softly and I curled up next to her. It wasn't the reaction I wanted to get out of her but I least she was being responsive again. After almost two days of absolutely nothing from her was enough to drive me crazy. Her cries were just as bad as her silence but I will take her crying over her comatose state.

As gently as I could so I would not scare her, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her back to my front. She was still tucked in her ball so I pulled my legs up to rest behind her. We stayed in the position for only a couple of moments before I felt her hand brush against mine. I flipped my hand up and she immediately grabbed it, entwining our fingers together. I swallowed back the tears that have been threatening to fall since the hope left Hermione. I was staying strong for her but I knew the chances of us being rescued slipped to slim to none. My nose brushed against the back of her neck and I shut my eyes, trying to fight back the creeping voices that told me to give up in the back of my head. Hermione squeezed my hand and I took that as a sign to not give in to those voices. We were going to get out of here. I made a promise to Hermione we would. I couldn't break that promise to her.

**Author's Note: **Sorry for taking so long to update! Real life is kicking my butt. I hope I still have readers out there! Let me know what you think! It gives me the motivation to update quicker.


	15. Chapter 15

The bars slammed open the next morning and I jumped. Hermione was nowhere near me and panic began to suffocate me before I turned my head and saw her in a tight ball in the corner. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, not seeming to see anything. I glanced up and Cliff and a man I did not recognize were walking toward me. They pulled me harshly to my feet and dragged me out of the cell. I tripped over my own feet and the grip on my arm that Cliff was holding tightened enough that I knew there was going to be a bruise. We walked silently to the room I have been working on my potion and it looked like nothing had been touched. They felt comfortable enough to not clear the potion and ingredients away. That must meant the coast was clear for them. Nobody was with Ron. Nobody was coming after him.

"Start working," Cliff growled, before walking away from me.

They left me alone to work for a few hours silently. I had to hold myself up by the table a couple of times when I felt my legs begin to quiver. I was feeling weaker and weaker as the days go by and not standing on my feet for the past two days really had an effect on me. They didn't bring me a bottle of water or anything to eat as I worked, which I didn't think they would. But it would have helped with the light headedness. They didn't even acknowledge me until I heard loud footsteps coming toward the room. I looked up and Cliff directed his wand at me.

Duncan stormed in, closely followed by a group of people. Roy and another man were walking beside him as Astoria and Daphne were running to keep up with them.

"Uncle, they are starting to get suspicious. When is Mitchel going to do it?" Astoria was saying as they entered.

Duncan walked directly toward me, ignoring his niece in the process. He got close to me before asking, "When will the potion be ready?"

I looked around at the group of people that had entered, stalling. "The potion is very tricky. It can still be a few days."

Duncan's hands flew around my neck and he pushed me down onto the table forcibly. He squeezed his fingers around my throat and I choked on the lack of air. "That was not the answer I was looking for. See, that potion will be done by tomorrow or you will no longer be here to finish it. It's your choice." Black spots entered my vision as I struggled to stay conscience by the lack of oxygen. "Do you understand me?"

His grip got even tighter as I tried to process what he was asking and took too long for his liking. I quickly nodded and he let go. I sucked in air like it was the last thing I was ever going to do and remained lying on the tabletop, trying to gain my composure back.

"Take him back to his cell. We have things to discuss," Duncan waved toward Cliff.

I was still gulping in air when Cliff lifted me back to a standing position and led me out the door. He hurriedly took me back and threw me inside before rushing back to the meeting that they were having in the other room. Still breathing a little abnormally, I walked to where Hermione was still lying in the corner and sat down against the wall. My head fell back against the hard surface in defeat. There was no way I was going to lie myself out of tomorrow. Either I finish the Draught of Living Death, or they kill me. Death didn't sound so bad if that didn't mean leaving behind Scorpius, Hermione and her kids.

A cold hand touched gently at my neck and I jumped. I reopened my eyes and Hermione was staring at my neck with questions in her eyes. Duncan must have left bruises around my throat for her to see. "M'kay," I croaked. It hurt to even speak.

She caressed the bruises with a feathery touch and I sighed against her fingers. She didn't speak, which should have made me realize she wasn't fully back to normal, but I knew she was trying and that was something. She tapped me on the shoulder lightly and I looked at her. Her eyes were half lidded and looked exhausted. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. Almost immediately her head fell on my shoulder and her hand seeked mine. She may not be talking but I still knew what she wanted and that was for me to get some sleep.

The next day, I was awake and ready for when they came for me. I stood when Cliff opened the bars and walked toward him without a fight. When we got to the room I walked straight toward the cauldron and began to work. Duncan didn't even give me an hour before he was breathing down my neck. I added the last ingredient, stirred for a moment, then turned around.

"It's ready," I said.

"Excellent. Cliff, bring her," Duncan ordered. Bring her? Who?

At my confused look Duncan chuckled. "You didn't think I would set the plan into motion without testing it first would you?"

I looked back toward the door as I heard footsteps. Hermione. They were going to test it on—

Cliff entered with a young girl, with bright red, bushy hair. Oh no. They didn't bring Hermione they brought her daughter.

"You are going to test it on her?" I said, feeling the panic begin to tighten in my chest.

"Well of course we have to test it on someone. Who else then on her?" Duncan walked closer to the girl and pinched her cheek as he said, "You have been giving us trouble these last couple of nights. I do not appreciate it."

Rose snatched her head away from him and squirmed in Cliff's arms. She is as fiery as her mom when she was that age. She was only Scorpius' age. This wasn't good. I didn't know the effect of the draught on someone who wasn't an adult. The draught could very well kill her.

"Wait. You can't test it on her. She is only a girl," I said, stepping forward.

"So? We do not need her. Kill two owls with one potion. No pun intended," Duncan smiled.

"I don't know the effects the potion will have on a child. It can be entirely different from what an adults experiences. You need to test it on an adult," I argued.

"What is the worst that can happen? We already want to kill her," Duncan said simply.

Rose let out a choked sound and continued to try and get out of Cliff's arms. I took a deep breath and replied, "The potion may do absolutely nothing to her and may kill an adult. It would be better to test an adult."

"Seems like Draco wants to take one for them team," Roy smirked.

I glanced at him quickly before looking away. If it meant Rose not drinking the potion I will drink it. Roy was walking toward me and I had all accepted my fate when Duncan said, "No. We need him in case the potion is not what he says it is. Get the other one."

Roy left and I felt a cold sweat break out all over. I knew who they were getting. I also knew that she would be okay after taking the potion but Cliff had yet to leave with Rose. This meant they were going to do it right in front of her. My heart started beating wildly as Roy returned with Hermione in tow.

"Mum!"

I watched as the light returned back to Hermione in a flash and her head swung to find Rose struggling harder than ever.

"Rosie?" Hermione attempted to walk toward her but Roy grabbed her, holding her in place. "Rose!"

"Mummy!" Rose was crying now and my heart wrenched for the both of them.

"Draco, you are up," Duncan said, looking straight at me.

No. I couldn't do it. Even though I knew it wouldn't kill her, I couldn't do it. "No."

"Do it, Draco. Or they both die," Duncan said darkly.

That got me moving and I turned toward the potion, pouring some into a vial. My hands were shaking so badly I don't know how I didn't drop it. I turned reluctantly and began walking toward Hermione. Hermione was still trying to get to her daughter when I stepped in front of her.

"Please, my baby is right there," Hermione said weakly.

"I'm sorry." My expression was pained as I brought the vial up to her lips. She clenched them tightly and I set my hand on her cheek, trying to ease her lips open. My eyes were focused on nothing but her coffee brown eyes as I got her mouth open. They pleaded for me not to do this and I hoped my eyes conveyed to her how sorry I was. Her eyes shut as the first drop hit her tongue.

"NO! MUM!" Rose screamed.

Hermione's body went limp and Roy threw her lifeless body on the ground, just as Rose escaped Cliff's hold. My head shot up as she ran toward her mother, tears streaming down her eyes. I grabbed her around the waist just as she made it toward us and wrapped my arms around her small frame. She tried to reach her mother but I pushed her face into my shoulder instead.

"Shh, don't look," I said to her. The girl sobbed horribly into my arms as Cliff stormed toward us. Before he could take her away from me, I whispered quickly, "She is okay. Draught of Living Death. Remember. Tell them when you are rescued."

Her body was ripped from me before I could see if she understood. Cliff took her out of the room as Roy looked at Duncan. "What do we do with the body?"

The hysteria returned to my system just like that. They can't take her! "She should stay in the cell with me."

"What for?" Roy laughed.

"So I can monitor her. This is the first time I've done this potion. I just want to make sure she is dead," I made up quickly.

Duncan studied me for a moment before nodding his head. "I will allow it."

Roy glared at me. "I am not touching a dead person."

I ignored him and picked up Hermione myself. I was very weak and barely able to hold her, but she was as light as a feather that I knew I could carry her without dropping her. She hung motionless in my arms and I began repeating the ingredients to the Draught of Living Death like it was a mantra. She is not dead. She is okay. She is not dead.

Roy opened the bars and I stepped inside. "I guess this is the end of your sick love story with the mudblood."

My shoulders tensed at his words and I carefully set Hermione down on the ground. I backed up against the wall and sat down my eyes glued to the floor, trying in vain to keep Roy from getting to me.

"You are the most disgusting piece of filth I have ever met. Did you know that?" Roy taught.

I attempted to ignore him but his words were flying through me like knives.

"She is dead and you still held her like she is the most precious thing in the world. You are garbage. Trash. Even she wasn't good enough for you, that is how low you are."

My vision was clouding as tears built up in my eyes. I put my head in arms, trying to hide from the daggers Roy was throwing at me but it was really no use. His words were getting into my head and making themselves comfortable, echoing around.

"But now she is dead. And you have nothing. Do you hear me Draco? You have nothing! You piece of scum!" A crash sounded near my head and I jumped.

A water bottle rolled next to me, slightly dented from being thrown at the wall. I looked up just as Roy threw in some bread before leaving. I felt the warm drops of tears fall down my cheeks and this time I didn't try to stop them.


End file.
